Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angel's Heart
by ReiSnatcher
Summary: Chapter 8! Finaly! Shinji and Rei finaly confess their feelings to eachother, and Kaji continues investigating the Phantom signatures.
1. Chapter 1: Cleaning and Conversations

**Chapter One**

"Ashino Lakes Two and Three, I hope we won't have many more holes to fill," Second Commander Fuyutsuki said as he looked out the side of the helicopter, hanging onto the outside edge with his hand as he leaned out. Below were the two new lakes created during one of the previous Angel attacks. His brown uniform and his short-cropped, gray hair rippled in the wind blowing by him. He pulled himself back into the helicopter and turned to the commander. "Which reminds me, Chairman Keel came to see me yesterday, complaining about the delays. He was pretty steamed, and he even hinted at your dismissal."

"Adam is going well," Commander Ikari said as he rested his chin on his folded hands, "and work on the Dummy Plug for the Eva project is proceeding. What are the old men at SELEE complaining about now?"

Fuyutsuki glanced at his former student who was now sitting beside him as they rode through the air. "The fact that the Instrumentality Project is behind schedule," he said.

"The projects are all linked together. There are no problems," the commander said, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

Fuyutsuki rose an eyebrow. "Including Rei?" When he got no answer, he lowered it and sighed. "Well, I won't press you. So, how will we deal with you know who?"

The commander seemed to consider something for a moment. His eyes never moved behind the orange-tinted glasses he wore. "Let him do as he wishes, the same with the Marduk Institute."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "I agree. We can make use them, for a while."

Commander Ikari continued to stare out over his white gloves. They flew the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

"Class dismissed," the old teacher said as the bell rang.

"Yes!" yelled Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke as they leapt up from their seats. They grabbed their stuff and headed for the door.

"Just a minute, Suzuhara, Ikari," said the class rep as Touji Suzuhara and Shinji Ikari were about to exit the room. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The two turned to look at her. Then they looked back at their desks.

"Oh! Thanks Hikari!" Touji said as he retrieved a book he had left on his desk and resumed leaving the classroom.

Hikari glared at him.

"Touji," Shinji said, feeling uneasy with Hikari's fierce gaze raking him. "I don't think that was what she meant…"

"Indeed it wasn't!" Hikari folded her arms and continued to eye the two teenagers. "You two have clean up duty today with Ayanami."

Touji groaned as he remembered that it was their turn to clean up the classroom. Shinji stayed silent and turned to Rei Ayanami, who already had a broom to start sweeping the floor. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were crimson. Her hair was a very light blue. Shinji thought her very attractive; however, she was really a mystery, Rei Ayanami. Even her fellow Eva pilots knew almost nothing about her, aside from what everyone knew, like that she followed orders without question, that she always stared out the window in school, or that she almost never showed emotion on her face.

It was true. Rei's face almost always had the same expression, or lack thereof, and there were only a few people who had ever seen any other emotion touch her features. Shinji had been one of these few. When he first saw her, she was badly injured, and she was accidentally thrown from her stretcher; the pain was extreme, and it caused her to wince and gasp. The second time she had slapped him and was clearly angry; he had insulted his father, the commander, whom Rei held in high regard. The third time, however, was when she smiled at him.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you two later," Kensuke Aida grinned at them as he exited the room. "Later," he said, waving a hand behind him as he walked away.

"But it's such a nice day outside!" Touji complained to Hikari. She just continued to stare at him.

Seeing that pleading would get them nowhere, Shinji went and retrieved his own broom. Touji followed him soon after, grumbling about how it was a crime to make them clean on a day like this.

"I'll take this section, Shinji, and you and Ayanami can split that section," Touji said as he walked to the front of the room with the broom over his shoulder.

"Uh, right. Is that okay with you, Ayanami?" Shinji asked Rei.

"It is acceptable, Ikari," she responded, not looking at him.

"Okay. Well, we had better get started then."

All three of them started sweeping in each of their designated areas. Shinji swept his dirt into a pile in the middle of his area, and he was amazed at how much dirt was dragged in onto the floor. Soon enough, he had to start another pile.

_I hope it will be a while before the next Angel attack,_ Shinji thought as he stood there, sweeping. _I really don't feel like piloting Eva anytime soon._

Shinji was the Third Child, the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit One. Along with Rei, the First Child and pilot of Unit Zero, and Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child and pilot of Unit Two, Shinji fought against the Angels. The Angels were supreme beings with unimaginable power who were attempting to destroy the human race. When the first Angel, Adam, was discovered, it caused Second Impact.

The Great Impact occurred when a meteor hit the Earth and caused the dinosaurs to become extinct, as well as knocking the Earth off of its axis. Because the organization that discovered Adam didn't want the truth to get out, they named the incident Second Impact, attributing the cause to a meteor. Everyone was currently taught that Second Impact occurred when a meteor slammed into the southern pole, knocking the Earth back onto its original axis and fixing the seasons in place. The truth of the matter was that with the awakening of Adam, the First Angel, Adam released untold amounts of energy, and the resulting blast was what caused Second Impact.

For 15 years, there would be no more Angels, but those that knew of Adam weren't prepared to believe that they wouldn't return. The organization NERV was charged with developing weapons to fight the Angels with. Conventional weapons would be of no use because of the Angels' ability to generate the AT field, a sort of force field that would keep the Angel from all harm. The only way that they would be able to defeat the Angels would be if they had a weapon with power equal to the Angels. Thus began the creation of the Evangelions.

The Evangelions were clones of Adam, the original Angel. They, too, could generate an AT field. By manipulating their AT field in such a way, the Evangelions could neutralize the AT field of the Angels, making them vulnerable to attack. Each of the three existing Evas were piloted by a child of fourteen years. One must sync one's mind with an Eva to pilot it. If the pilot moved his arm, the Eva would move its arm. If the pilot took a step forward, the Eva took a step forward. This made the Eva's very easy to pilot; however, the synchronizing with an Eva worked both ways. The pilot would feel anything that the Eva felt. If the Eva's arm were cut off, the pilot would feel as if his arm was cut off. If a hole were bashed through the Eva's skull, the pilot would feel as if a hole was bashed through his skull. There was rarely a fight where an Eva did not sustain some type of injury, so the pilots had to endure extreme pain.

Only certain people with the correct genetic code could sync with an Eva, and of those, only children whose brains haven't completely developed could survive the experience unharmed. It might seem harsh, using children as humankind's last defense; however, it is humankind's only choice.

Shinji was sweeping the same spot over and over, lost in thought.

Fifteen years after the first angel awoke, the Angels returned. They came in all shapes and sizes, but more often than not, they were colossal. Adam was this way, and as such, the Evangelions were just as huge. The pilots of these giant mechas would put on their plug suit, a piece of apparel that enhanced their ability to sync with their Evas, and get into an entry plug. Once the hatch of the plug was sealed, it would fill with LCL, a yellowish liquid that smelled of blood. When charged with electricity, the LCL would directly oxygenate the pilots' blood. The entry plug was then inserted into the back of the Evangelion, and the syncing of the pilot with the Evangelion would commence.

Because of their enormous size, and of the proximity the Eva must be in relation to the Angel to neutralize its AT field, the pilots must engage in hand to hand combat with the angels. Sometimes this couldn't be done because of other defenses that the Angel's had. The Fifth Angel, Ramiel, had a beam weapon that destroyed anything that got relatively close to it. It was finaly defeated with a high-energy, positron cannon that took the entirety of Japan to power it. If not done by an Eva, it takes an enourmous amount of energy to penetrate an AT field.

"Hey, Shinji! What are you trying to do? Dig a hole in the floor?" Touji yelled to get Shinji's attention.

Shinji looked down. The spot he was sweeping was almost sanded completely smooth from his repetitive sweeps across it.

"Oh," he said. "Oops." He started sweeping other spots that needed it.

Shinji could see Rei out of the corner of his eye. She was sweeping the last of her piles into the dustpan. Making sure he continued to sweep different areas, he watched her empty the dustpan, and place the broom and the pan together back in the closet. She retrieved a bucket from the closet, and shut the door. Holding onto the handle of the metal pail, she left the room to fill it up with water and soap.

"Staring at Ayanami again, Shinji?" Touji said once she left the room.

"What! Of c-course n-not!" he stuttered.

"Yeah whatever. Me and Kensuke saw you staring at Rei that time when she had swimming class." He grinned at Shinji while leaning on his broom handle.

"Look, it's not what you think!" Shinji desperately defended himself.

"Oh yeah?" Touji said. "Then what is it?"

"I was just wondering why she's always alone," Shinji said.

"Yeah, that's what you said last time we saw you ogling her," Touji said.

"I wasn't ogling her!" Shinji screamed at Touji.

"Who was Shinji ogling?" a voice said.

Shinji and Touji stiffened, and they turned to regard the redhead who was currently staring at them, Asuka Langley Soryu. Because school had just recently ended, she was in her school uniform. Her hands were on her hips and she held her briefcase in one of them. She was tapping her foot. "Well?" she said.

"No one!" Shinji said, holding his hands up in front of himself.

"Right," she said and turned to look at Touji. "Who was he ogling?"

Touji glanced at Shinji from the corner of his eye. He had definitely not expected that Asuka would overhear him teasing Shinji. He knew that Asuka would make Shinji's life miserable if he told her about Rei. Asuka didn't particularly like the First Child.

"Uh, not one. I was just teasing him," Touji said nervously. He was desperately trying to avoid the Second Child's wrath.

Asuka narrowed her eyes at him, and opened her mouth to say something when Hikari yelled to her.

"Hey, Asuka!" she said. "I need your help with something!"

"This isn't over," she growled at them as she ran to the other side of the room and out the door.

When they were sure that she was out of listening distance, Touji wiped his hand across his forehead.

"Whew," he said. "For a minute I thought we were done for."

"Thanks for not telling Asuka," Shinji said.

"Hey, no problem, Shin-man. I may tease you, but I wouldn't intentionally bring the fire demon's wrath down upon you," he smirked. Then he realized what Shinji had just said. "So you _were_ ogling Ayanami! I knew it!"

"What? No!" Shinji tried to cover up for his slip. "I mean…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not like you're the only guy here that looks at the girls." He grinned at Shinji.

"Yeah," Shinji said. Then he grinned at Touji. "I've noticed that you've been paying a lot of attention to the class rep, haven't you Touji?" he said.

"What! Where did you get that crazy idea?" Touji said nervously, clearly caught off guard by Shinji's comment.

"I didn't get the idea, Touji. It's a fact. Kensuke noticed it too," Shinji said as he continued making small piles of dirt.

"Listen, you don't tell this to anyone, you hear?" Touji said as he grabbed Shinji by the color of his shirt and lifted him a bit into the air.

"Sorry, I wont! I wont!" Shinji said as he frantically tried to get down.

"Good."

Touji put Shinji back down and resumed his sweeping. Shinji took his broom and did likewise. Rei lugged in the metal pail full with water a moment later and brought it over to her space. Shinji was able to concentrate on his sweeping for a while. When he heard the sound of water dripping, however, he looked over towards Ayanami. She was kneeling over the bucket of water. Shinji's hands slowed until they were no longer moving the broom, but merely keeping it from falling.

Rei had a washcloth in her hands, which she had just drawn from the bucket of lukewarm water. The dripping that distracted Shinji had been the water draining off of the cloth as she withdrew it from the water. Taking the cloth in both of her hands, she twisted it to drain it of the excess water, which she wouldn't need.

As Shinji now openly watched Rei wring the cloth in her hands, a thought popped into his head. _She looks like a mother,_ he thought. _It's silly that I would think of that, but I think Rei would make a great mother._ He suddenly blushed furiously when he realized where this train of thought was brining him. Fortunately for Shinji, or possibly unfortunately, depending on how one sees it, before he could indulge in the coming fantasy, a sudden feeling of pain jerked him back to reality.

"Hey! Get back to your work!" Shinji heard Touji yell as he felt the brush end of a broom come down on his head.

"Ow! Sorry!" Shinji winced from the pain, thinking about how it might have not been a good idea to bring up Touji's seeming fascination with Hikari of late.

Right on queue, the class rep stuck her head into the classroom. "Why don't you get back to work, Touji!" she yelled at him.

Hearing Hikari's voice from behind him, Touji pulled the broom back to himself, spun around and yelled, "Yes, ma'am!" and he once again resumed his sweeping of the floor.

Rubbing his head to rid himself of the pain, Shinji swept the last of his dirt into one big pile in the middle of his area. He went to and from the utility closet to retrieve the dustpan. He swept up his pile of dirt into the dustpan, and dumped it into the garbage can. As he was about to return his broom and dustpan to the closet, Touji called to him.

"Hey, Shin-man!" he said. "Leave the dustpan out, will you? I'll need it in a few."

"Sure," Shinji replied, leaving the pan on a desk before returning his broom to the closet.

"Thanks, man," Touji said, determined to finish with his sweeping soon.

"No problem," Shinji said to him over his shoulder as he took a washcloth from the closet. He looked for another bucket, but there wasn't another one in sight. Rei must have taken the only one available for classroom 2-A. Turning around, Shinji approached Ayanami, who was slowly washing the floors.

"Um, Ayanami?" he said to her.

"Ikari," she said, acknowledging his presence, but not looking up from the floor.

"Um, there isn't another pail for me to get water. Do you mind if I share with you?"

Rei stopped her scrubbing of the floor. "I do not mind, Ikari. Do as you wish." She resumed scrubbing the floor.

"Thank you, Ayanami," Shinji said as he bent down and dipped his cloth into the bucket. Pulling it out, he wringed it as Ayanami had done earlier. Once he was satisfied that he had enough water, he returned to his area and proceeded to scrub the floor.

Even after Shinji's thorough sweeping, the wooden floor still seemed encrusted with dirt. Shinji had to vigorously scrub the floor with the soapy cloth forever. By the time he was a quarter of the way finished with scrubbing his area, he was sweating, and his fingers looked like prunes. Soapy prunes. Making his way back to the bucket to rinse his washcloth again, he found Ayanami about to pick it up and refill it. She was halfway done with her side.

"I'll get it, Ayanami," Shinji said as he rushed to grab the handle of the bucket before she did.

Rei looked at Shinji for a moment before nodding and returning to the floor, attempting to get the most dirt off with her washcloth while Shinji went and refilled the water bucket. Most people would think that she was rude, not even uttering a word of thanks, but Shinji didn't mind. He knew that she was always like that, and he took no offense.

As he was about to exit the classroom, Shinji realized that Touji hadn't asked to share the bucket with them. He looked behind himself and couldn't see Touji. Only when Shinji turned back to go out the door did he spot Touji sleeping under the desks. His floor still needed sweeping.

Shinji was about to wake him up, but decided that he would wait until he returned with more water. He still needed to give Touji some payback for hitting him on the head with that broom earlier. He knew that Touji wouldn't be happy when he woke and realized how much work he still had to do.

Shinji exited the room and walked down the hall towards the room where he would get fresh new water.

Rei finally gave up on trying to get the floor cleaner with the dirty rag she was using. Rather than scrubbing the dirt away, the cloth seemed to be putting dirt back onto the floor. Rei gave a barely notice able sigh and pushed herself onto her knees. Placing the filthy cloth on the ground next to her, she sat on her knees and waited for Shinji to return with fresh water.

Rei frowned a bit as she thought of Shinji. The boy puzzled her. He acted differently towards her than anyone else did. Most people avoided her because of her introverted nature. Shinji's father, Commander Ikari, would occasionally talk to her, and he even burnt his hands while trying to open the door to her still scorching entry plug to save her. Of course, Shinji had also done the same thing after the fifth angel attacked, yet it was somehow different than when the commander had done it. Shinji had seemed genuinely worried about her for her sake, while the commander had seemed worried that he might lose a pilot.

Unlike most people, who tried to avoid her, or people like the Second Child who would constantly insult her, Shinji always tried to talk with her and get to know her better. He claimed that it was good for pilots to get to know each other, but she rarely saw him talking to Pilot Soryu without trying to get away. Not only would he talk to her, but he would also do things for her, like getting the water for her just know. He would take it upon himself to deliver things to her apartment when it was needed.

Suddenly Rei's thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound that was reminiscent of someone tearing cloth. She looked over towards the source of the noise and saw Suzuhara lying on his back underneath the school desks. The noise came again. Rei looked at the snoring boy in disapproval.

Normally, she would have let Suzuhara just lie there and waste time because he was irresponsible enough to fall asleep while he should have been cleaning. However, after a few more notes of cloth-ripping music, Rei decided that it might be a favor to humanity if she woke him up. Arising from her previous kneeling position, Rei walked over towards Suzuhara.

When she was standing to his sleeping form, she tried to awaken him.

"Suzuhara," she said and waited for him to respond.

When his response was another ear-splitting snore, she tried again.

"Suzuhara," she said, this time a bit louder.

Another snore.

This was getting her nowhere. She decided to leave the room while she waited for Shinji to return with the water. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long, because soon she saw Shinji coming walking down the hallway, the heavy bucket just barely above the floor.

"Ayanami? What are you doing out here?" Shinji asked as he reached her with the water.

"The environment within the classroom has become inhospitable for the moment," she said to him, her face void of emotion as always. Had it been any other person, Shinji might have thought it a joke. But he knew full well that Rei never displayed any sense of humor, if she even had one.

Seeing the confused look on Shinji's face, Rei opened up the door behind her. Immediately Shinji's ears were assaulted with an onslaught of the horrendous sounds that accompanied Touji's dreamland.

Understanding Rei's meaning now, Shinji entered the room and set the bucket down in its previous position. Then he walked over to Touji, noticing that Rei was still outside. Knowing that they needed to return to their work, Shinji nudged Touji with his foot.

"Touji, wake up," he said.

As with Ayanami, he was answered with a snore.

Kicking him a bit harder this time, Shinji yelled, "Touji, wake up!"

Still no response. Well, at least not the response he was looking for.

His ears throbbing from the noise, and knowing that Ayanami's ears must feel the same way, he bent down next to Touji, grabbed his ear, and hollered, "TOUJI! WAKE UP NOW!"

Startled from his nap, Touji leaped up from his sleeping position, an action that didn't turn out so well, as he was still underneath the desks. Touji smashed his head into a desk, causing it to flip over.

Rubbing his head, Touji glared up at Shinji. "What the hell was that for!" he yelled at him.

Before Shinji could say anything, Rei spoke up, surprising the both of them. "Pilot Ikari was attempting to make the room more hospitable.

Touji blinked, not knowing how to react to that.

"Touji, you fell asleep and you still have a lot more to clean. I needed to wake you up so you could clean," Shinji told his friend, leaving out that he was afraid that if he didn't wake up, the school might have collapsed from his horrendous snoring.

"Oh, right." Touji extracted himself from beneath the remaining desk and righted the one that he had knocked over. Picking his broom off the floor, Touji resumed his sweeping.

"Let's finish scrubbing, Ayanami," Shinji said as he lead the way back to the bucket. He reached the bucket first and noticed her washcloth still on the floor. When she arrived by the bucket, she reached down for her cloth so she could rinse it, only for a hand to grab her wrist and stop her.

"Here," Shinji said as he held out his own washcloth, which was clean and free of dirt.

Rei nodded and accepted the cloth he held out to her. Then she returned to her spot on the floor and continued scrubbing.

Dipping Rei's filthy washcloth under the soapy water, Shinji squeezed and wrung the cloth until it was clean. Then, withdrawing the cloth from the pail, he wrung out the excess water, and returned to his spot on the floor.

By remarkable feat of intense scrubbing, Shinji managed to finish cleaning his side at the same moment as Rei did. At the moment that the two dropped their washcloths into the bucket, they heard Touji sigh with relief. They looked over to him. He had just dumped the last of his piles into the trash.

"Thank God you're done," he said. "Now you can help me!"

Sighing, Shinji was about to pick the bucket up to once again fill it with clean water, when Rei grabbed his wrist in a fashion much similar to when he had grabbed hers earlier.

"That will not be possible, Suzuhara," she said. "Ikari and I must report to NERV immediately."

She released Shinji's wrist and he glanced at the clock. His eyes widened when he saw that it was almost time for their sync test with the Evas.

"Sorry, Touji," Shinji said. His pruned fingers weren't sorry, that's for sure, but Shinji didn't feel the need to express what his fingers thought of Touji's suggestion that they help him.

"Sure you are," Touji grumbled as he grabbed a hold of the bucket and dragged it out the door, leaving Shinji and Rei in the room.

Rei went to collect her things, and Shinji did the same.

Once they had their things, they left the room in silence. They walked through the school and soon out onto the streets. It might be a long walk to NERV headquarters, but they had time enough to take it slow as they walked there.

Rei and Shinji walked down the sidewalk side by side as they left the school and went towards their destination: NERV headquarters.

* * *

Rei and Shinji reached NERV headquarters with only minutes to spare. The sync tests would be starting soon.

Rei walked ahead of Shinji and swiped her card through the reader in front of the steel door that led to NERV head quarters. The reader beeped, a green light appeared, and the door slid open. Rei stepped through, and the door shut behind her.

After Rei had gone through, Shinji stepped up to the reader, and swiped his own NERV ID card through. Just like when Rei did it, the reader beeped, a green light appeared, and the door slid open. Shinji stepped through.

Rei was nowhere in sight. Shinji sighed in disappointment. He hadn't really expected her to be there. Much to the contrary, he had expected her to be gone just like she was. However he had been hoping that she might have waited for him to come after her, but she hadn't. She had probably gone straight to the women's locker room to change into her plug suit. Shinji knew he, too, should be changing into his plug suit, so he sighed and headed towards the men's locker room.

Shinji retrieved his plug suit from his locker and proceeded to strip himself of his current clothes. As he unbuttoned his white shirt, Shinji started thinking about earlier when he was cleaning with Rei. He had refilled the water bucket for her, and gave her his clean washcloth to use while he washed her dirty one. Shinji wasn't delusional; he knew that he liked Rei and that there was no fooling himself into thinking otherwise.

Shinji liked Rei, and therein lied his problem. Shinji was a very polite, and shy, young man. He had no idea on how to go about getting Rei's attention. Not only that, but also many people would say that he had set an impossible goal for himself: trying to get the attention of Ayanami. Everyone knew how emotionless she acted. Only because Shinji had seen her show emotion did he not think as all the others did. If Shinji were anyone other than himself he might think that he had a chance with Rei, but he wasn't someone else. He was Shinji Ikari, a boy plagued with the hedgehog's Dilemma.

The Hedgehogs Dilemma told of how no matter how close two hedgehogs wanted to get to each other, the spines on their backs would always hurt them. The same was true for humans, though they would hurt each other in different ways. Shinji has always been afraid of being hurt, and not physically. Because he was an Eva pilot, he constantly had to deal with pain. It was emotional pain that he couldn't stand. His father abandoned him when he was just a little boy, leaving him to live with his teachers until he was called back to pilot Eva.

Shinji desperately wanted to be close to Rei. As he sat there pulling on his plug suit, he started thinking that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get her attention. He would always run away from everything he couldn't handle, but maybe there was something else he could do. After all, if he never got into a relationship, what would his father think of him?

Like any boy, Shinji desperately wanted his fathers approval, Shinji even more so because his father had abandoned him. Shinji had thought that he had hated his father, but when he realized that the reason he continued to pilot his Eva because it was the only way to get his father's approval, Shinji's feelings about his father became confused. Things had been so much simpler when Shinji could just blindly hate his father.

However, his father might not approve of a relationship between him and Ayanami. She was the commander's favorite, as Asuka so sorely put it. While Shinji had some doubts of the reasons his father was so protective of Rei, he was fairly certain it wasn't out of kindness. His father had brought her up instead of him, but he wasn't jealous. On the contrary he felt quite sorry that Rei had to grow up with his father as a guardian. He half suspected that his father never let her have fun, and had instilled her with a sense of duty since she came to be under his care, though perhaps un-care would be a more appropriate term.

Though his father might have given him words of recognition when he helped defeat the tenth angel, Shinji was certain that there was no real meaning behind them for his father. To him, they were probably only words to make sure that Shinji would continue to do his best at piloting. What made Shinji angry was that he would continue piloting if he could only hear those words from his father. He hated the man for it, and for how he used people to get what he wanted. But still the words of his father echoed in his mind, _Well done, Shinji_, and causing Shinji's feelings to become confused.

Even so, Shinji expected that his father would not approve of a relationship between him and Rei. In all honesty he believed that his father would forbid it just to cause pain to Shinji. He could tell that Rei had been brought up to be cold and emotionless, just like his father. He thanked the Gods that Gendou had not been able to instill his cruelty into the young, blue-haired girl.

Shinji pulled his legs into the rubber sleeves of the plug suit. It might not be a bad idea to try and talk to Rei some more than he normally did. Shinji rationalized this idea by think how it would be beneficial for pilots to know each other better, disproving his earlier belief that he couldn't fool himself about his attraction to Rei.

He pulled his arms into the plug suit, and then zipped up the rest. The suit looked like it was a size to big, but then it always did when first put on. Reaching up to his wrist, Shinji pressed a little button on the plug suit's control panel. The suit contracted itself and conformed to the shape of Shinji's body. Putting the neuron connecters on each side of his head, he turned to the door of the locker room and strode out, wondering about how he should start his conversation with Rei.

* * *

Rei Ayanami entered the women's locker room only to be greeted by a familiar, and unwelcome, redhead.

"_Guten tag,_ Wondergirl," the German girl said as Rei stepped through the doorway.

Rei, ignoring the Second Child, walked over to her locker and started undressing so she could get into her plug suit.

Asuka sniffed at Rei's lack of attention, and continued to get into her own plug suit. "It's no wonder people avoid you, Wondergirl," she said. "_I _wouldn't even be gracing you with my awesome presence if you weren't a fellow pilot, but since you are I guess you deserve _some_ acknowledgement."

Asuka continued to ramble on about her overall greatness, but Rei wasn't listening to the second pilot's egotistical speech. She was just getting ready for the sync test. She was paying no attention whatsoever to the Second Childs words, and they just flew on over Rei's head. That is, until Asuka mentioned something that caught her attention.

"Can you believe Shinji? I mean he's got such nerve to be staring at someone else besides me. I'm the only one worthy of his attention! The two stooges tried to cover it up, but I'll figure out whom Shinji was ogling if it is the last thing I do!" Asuka yelled as she thrust her fist up in the air. "How dare he! I'm the only one worthy of his attention, or that of any other boy for that matter. After all, I am all that which a man wants in a girl."

Rei never turned to Asuka, but she started listening to what she was saying about Shinji.

"I mean it's not like anyone would ever be interested in him. He is always apologizing for everything, even if it isn't his fault. He's just a piece of worthless _scheisse_! He's always bowing and scrapping this way and that. He's also got no good qualities! Why would he think any girl would be interested in him anyway?"

Rei frowned as she pulled her hand though the rubber sleeve into the glove at the end of the arm of the plug suit. _Ikari has many good qualities_, she found herself thinking. _He is always helping people and doing things for others, and he is very polite. He pilots his Eva very well._ She could not fathom why the Second Child had such an apparent dislike for him.

Flexing her fingers so that they would be all the way in, she pushed the small button on the wrist, making the entire suit conform to the curves of her body. After placing the neuron transmitters on her head, she turned and regarded the fire-haired pilot of Unit Two.

Asuka had just placed the transmitters on her head and also turned to look at Rei.

"Well?" she said. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Rei stared at the pilot for a long time before turning to leave.

"Hey! Get back here Wondergirl! I haven't finished!"

The steel door slid open and shut behind Rei as she left the locker room. She heard a frustrated scream followed by a loud crash in the room she had just left. Rei decided that she definitely did not like the Second Child.

She walked along the corridor until she came to the elevator that would bring her to the level where the sync testing would take place. The first thing she noticed was that Shinji was there, obviously waiting for the elevator to open.

"Oh, hi Ayanami!" Shinji turned and said to her as she stepped up beside him.

"Ikari." She nodded and acknowledged his presence, although she didn't turn to look at him. Even it had been something she normally would have done, she still wouldn't have looked at him. She was thinking about Asuka's earlier rantings. The doors of the elevator opened, and they stepped in as Rei continued to think. She had thought of four good qualities about Shinji, but that hardly seemed like enough. She realized that she didn't know much about Shinji, and that it might be pertinent if she knew more about her fellow pilots. Seeing as how she had a dislike for the Second Child, she decided that it would be good to get to know Shinji better first.

Shinji, meanwhile, was sweating profusely and on the border of having a nervous breakdown. Not only had he been trying to start a conversation with Rei for the last few minutes, but also he currently had a problem that he was desperately hoping that Rei wouldn't notice. Why, oh why did Rei's plug suit have to be like it was?

Because the plug suits would conform to the body, they had the impression of being very revealing when the only visible skin was the face. Even though it was a plug suit that still didn't change the fact that Rei was wearing a suit of white, skin-tight rubber. The suit hinted at everything while showing nothing. It had an effect on Shinji that he really didn't want while he was trying to start a conversation that would allow him to get to know Rei better. She would probably think that he was a pervert if she noticed. It's what Asuka would think. Not to mention that it made the plug suits very uncomfortable.

Sitting down in the corner of the elevator because his legs were tired (and because he needed to make a certain problem unnoticeable), Shinji put his hands in his lap and stared at the ceiling. Now assured that Rei couldn't discover his problem, he started thinking on what he should do. Thinking of what he decided earlier, Shinji glanced at Rei and started thinking of something to say. Finally, Shinji opened his mouth, intending to say something, but he never got a chance to.

"Ikari," Rei said.

Shinji's mouth fell open. As far as he knew, Rei had never been the one to initiate conversation unless she was ordered to deliver a message. She had a policy of speaking when spoken to, and had never broken that policy, until now.

Regaining control of the muscles in his jaw, Shinji said, "Yes, Ayanami?"

"Why do you pilot your Eva, Ikari?" she said, believing that she should start with something that they both had in common.

Shinji was confused. He was sure that she knew the reason, as he had told her, Asuka, and Misato when they were all celebrating the defeat of an angel. "Well, um… I pilot it because my father approves of me when I do."

Rei turned to look at Shinji. There was another reason for starting with this question. She had known that that was the reason that Shinji had told everybody, but she knew that earlier he had hated his father. She knew that it couldn't be the reason he started piloting Eva.

"Ikari, why did you start piloting Unit One?"

Shinji stiffened. He had not expected a conversation with Rei to go this way, not at all. Had he been the one who initiated the conversation between them, it wouldn't have gone this way, but he didn't start it. Rei wanted to know the answer, but Shinji was reluctant to give it. He closed his eyes and thought back to when he first saw Eva...

* * *

"Hey, why's it so dark in here?" Shinji said as he groped around in the darkness.

The lights flicked on, and the giant, purple, horned face appeared before him.

"AH!" Shinji yelled as he fell back onto the catwalk. The sudden appearance of the giant head had scared the wits out of him. He had thought it some giant demon come to devour him.

"It's a face. A giant robot?" Shinji stood up and quickly pulled out the copy of _Welcome to NERV_ that Misato Katsuragi had given him when she picked him up. He started to furiously flip through it, looking for something about the giant mecha standing before him.

"You won't find this in there," the shorthaired, blond Dr. Ritsuko Ikagi told him.

"What?" Shinji said as he glance up at the lab coat swathed woman who had rescued him and Misato from being lost forever in NERV's maze of pathways.

"This is man's ultimate fighting machine, the synthetic life form known as Evangelion, Unit One. Built here in secret, it is mankind's last hope," the doctor said as she looked up at the beast.

"This, this is my fathers work?" Shinji said, assuming this because his father called him here.

"Correct," a voice emanated from the speakers, a voice that Shinji hadn't heard in seven years. Shinji spun around and looked up at a man standing behind a glass window that was a hundred feet above him. "It's been a while," Gendo Ikari said.

"Father…" Shinji said quietly as he saw the man above him that abandoned him all those years ago.

The commander turned to look at Dr. Ikagi. "We're moving out," he said.

Misato's eyes widened as she looked up at the commander, her long, dark purple hair falling behind her as she tilted her head back. "Moving out! But Unit Zero is still in cryo-stasis!" she yelled up at him. He just stared back down at her, and her eyes widened even more. "Wait a minute—your gonna' use Unit One!"

"There's no other way," Ritsuko said as she turned to Misato.

"Now wait! Rei can't do it yet can she? We don't have a pilot!" Misato yelled.

"We just received one."

"You're serious?"

"Shinji Ikari," Ritsuko said as she turned to look at the boy, "you will pilot it."

"But even Rei Ayanami took seven months to synchronize with her Eva," Misato said, waving her hands. "It's impossible for him to do it, he just got here!"

"He just has to sit in the seat, we don't expect more than that."

"But—"

"Listen, defeating that Angel is our ultimate priority. If we have someone who has a chance at synchronizing with an Eva, then we've got to risk it. You do understand that don't you, Captain Katsuragi?

Misato had her mouth open to protest, but she changed what she was going to say when Ritsuko had said her rank in the tone she did. "Yes, Ma'am."

Shinji had heard the entire exchange and looked up at his father. "Why did you send for me?" he yelled up to the figure behind the glass.

"You know why I sent for you," his father replied in an emotionless voice.

"So, you're asking me to take this thing and go out there and fight?"

"Correct."

"How could you do this to me! I thought you didn't want me!" Shinji balled his fists up in anger as he stared at the ground. "Why? Why did you have to call me now father?"

"Because I have a use for you."

The cold tone in which his father said that struck Shinji hard. Tears of anger started to form in his eyes. "But why? Why me?"

"Because there is no one else who can."

"No I can't. I've never even seen anything like this before. There's no way I can do this!"

"You will be instructed."

"But still—there's no way—I can't pilot that thing!" Shinji yelled as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"If you're going to do it, do it now. If not, then leave!" His father yelled down from his perch.

Before Shinji could reply, he stumbled to the ground because of a rumble that was felt throughout the entirety of the NERV complex.

"It's close. It must sense us," the commander said, looking up at the ceiling.

Ritsuko looked at Shinji. "Shinji, we don't have much time."

"Get inside," Misato said.

"This is all wrong. I came all this way. Why did I come!" Shinji said as he shook with anger.

"Why Shinji? Exactly why did you come here? You mustn't run away, you must confront your father and you must confront yourself," Misato said. She knew how Shinji felt since she too had hated her father.

"I know that. But—I just can't!"

"Fuyutsuki," Gendo Ikari said quietly, and Second Commander Fuyutsuki appeared on the screen beside Gendo.

"Sir," he said.

"Wake up Rei."

There was a not of surprise in Fuyutsuki's response. "Can we use her?"

"She's not dead yet," the commander said in his emotionless voice.

It was a while before Fuyutsuki answered. "Understood."

"Rei?" the commander said.

A very weak and faint voice drifted over the communications system. "Yes," it said.

"Our spare is unusable, you will do it again," he commanded the person on the opposite end.

The same weak voice answered. "Yes Sir."

Hearing the exchange, Dr. Ikagi yelled to the technicians. "Reconfigure Unit One's system for Rei! Then activate!"

A female voice answered from the speakerphone. "Roger. Calling off current program and beginning activation."

"I knew it, I'm not needed after all," Shinji quietly said.

A sudden squeaking, like the rolling of small wheels caught Shinji's attention. He looked up.

There was a girl being rolled in on a hospital bed. Her hair was blue and her eyes crimson. He skin was pale, and he could see her long slender arms which were bare while the rest of her body seemed to be encased in some white plastic suit. Shinji would have gasped at her beauty, but instead he gasped at the multitude of bandages covering her pale skin. There was one around her waist, her legs, her abdomen, her chest, and even one around her head and left eye.

Shinji stared at her as she was wheeled past him. He knew that she must be in considerable pain. This must be the other pilot, Rei, whom his father had been talking to. She looked like she would die if she tried to do anything more than lie there. Shinji's hands clenched again in anger at his father for making this poor girl go through this.

Suddenly the entire room shifted, knocking Shinji down and dumping Rei from her bed. Some debris fell from the ceiling of the Eva's cage.

"Look out!" Misato yelled in panic as the debris fell down towards Shinji.

Shinji yelled and through his hand up in a futile attempt to save himself from the elephant sized chunks of metal hurtling down at him.

He heard a screeching of metal and an enormous splash as something moved over him, blocking the light away. He heard the debris bounce off of something and splash harmlessly into the liquid that enveloped the Eva from shoulders down.

Shinji opened his eyes to see a gigantic purple arm shielding him. Shinji stared at the thing in shock, unable to move. He heard an alarm in the background and people yelling.

"The Eva activated itself!"

"It ripped right out of the right arm restraints!"

"No, That's not possible!" he heard Ritsuko say. "The entry plug wasn't even inserted. That just can't happen!"

"You mean it reacted without any kind of interface? Was it willing to protect something? To protect him? It's him!" Misato yelled in surprise as she pointed to the arm hovering over Shinji.

Shinji was taken from his state of shock when he heard a soft voice gasp sharply. He whipped his head to the right and saw the girl that had been on the hospital bed crumpled up on the floor. He scrambled up and ran to her.

When he reached the girl, he slowly reached down and put his arms around her neck and her back, helping her get out of the contorted position she had landed in. She winced and gasped in agony. She was on the border of tears, and had her eyes squeezed shut as she let out gasps of pain..

Shinji's eyes widened when he felt something sticky and wet on her back. He pulled his hand from behind her and saw the blood that now covered his hands. He could still here people in the background yelling. He could only stare at the blood until he heard the girl give another whimper from the pain.

She was suffering in agony, he thought. He cradled her to his chest, trying to comfort her, while his eyes narrowed as he remembered what his father has said, _She's not dead yet._ Shinji knew that if this girl got into that monster of a robot, she would surely die.

Holding the girl to his chest, Shinji squeezed his eyes shut again. He didn't want this girl to die, as she surely would if she had to pilot that thing. He hated his father for it. There was only one thing to do. _I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away..._

"I'll do it!" he yelled, turning his head to face his father, silencing the cacophony of yelling that had been there a moment before. "I'll pilot it!"

* * *

Shinji opened his eyes as he finished remembering the events that led him to pilot Unit One. He knew his father had known that Shinji would pilot to save Rei, but even if he hadn't, his father still would have forced her to enter the plug. No, his father definitely didn't care about her, or any other human. They were all expendable to him. _I can forgive him for abandoning me, and I can forgive him for all the pain he's put me through, but I can _never _forgive what he did to Ayanami. _He looked at Rei and found her staring intently at him. His face reddened as he looked down, and wondered what to tell Rei.

"I apologize," Rei said. "If you do not wish to talk about it, you do not—"

"It's alright," Shinji said as he looked up from the ground. Still not looking at Rei, he cleared his throat before saying, "I, uh—I piloted Eva so… so you wouldn't have to." There he said it. He looked down at the ground as he felt his face redden again. Had he not done so, however, he might have noticed that Rei's usually pale face had turned a light shade of pink.

Rei was confused by her reaction to what he said. She had rarely ever been embarrassed before, and she had no idea as to why what Shinji said should bring such a reaction from her. Not only that, but she felt… she felt something. She couldn't describe the feeling, other than it felt warm and that she felt like leaning toward the young pilot of Unit One. She had believed that he had originally piloted Eva because the commander had ordered him to, regardless of his feelings for him, just as she would have done. She wasn't expecting him to say that he had piloted it for her sake.

Shinji was grateful when the doors opened to the Eva cages, dispelling the uncomfortable moment.

"Uh, here we are, Ayanami," he said nervously.

Rei didn't say anything, but walked past him and out onto the catwalks, heading for the sync test room. Shinji ran to catch up to her and walked beside her into the room where they would get into their entry plugs.

"Ah, it's good to see you two," Dr. Ikagi greeted them. "Is the Second Child coming?"

Rei nodded, which told the doctor nothing except that Asuka was at least somewhere in the building.

"Well, let's get you into the entry plugs. We'll get Asuka in when she gets here."

"Yes, Dr. Ikagi," Shinji said as he approached his entry plug. Opening the door, he was about to step inside when he saw Rei at her own entry plug. She was pulling on the hatch handles, but it wouldn't open. Dr. Ikagi was on the other side of the room looking at some instruments, so there was no one to help Rei. Shinji pushed himself beck out of his plug and went over to Rei.

"Do you need help Ayanami?" he asked Rei.

Rei looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Yes, the hatch seems to be stuck, Ikari," she said.

"I can try and open it for you," Shinji said before flushing from Rei's stare.

"That would be acceptable," she said after a moment before stepping away from the hatch.

Shinji nodded and stepped to the location where Rei had been standing just moments earlier. Grabbing the twin handles of the hatch, Shinji braced himself as he prepared to twist the handles and open the hatch.

Shinji grunted when he discovered that the hatch was stuck. Really stuck. He was by no means weak, but he wasn't even budging the handles. Scrunching up his face, Shinji started exerting himself while trying to open the hatch. His face was turning read and he was sweating.

Finally the handles could resist his efforts and suddenly twisted and the hatch opened. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before moving back and allowing Rei to enter.

She nodded to him as she stepped in. Shinji knew that it was all the thanks that he was going to get. Rei Ayanami never thanked anyone, not even the commander. With a small sigh, Shinji closed the hatch behind her and latched it before returning to his plug. Opening the hatch, he stepped inside and sat down on the seat within and leaned back. The hatch closed and latched shut, and Shinji waited for Asuka to arrive and get into her plug so the testing could begin.

As Shinji sat there with his eyes closed, he thought again about what he should do. There was no denying he was attracted to Rei. Him sweating and hopping that Rei wouldn't notice a certain aspect of him earlier proved that. He was also puzzled by the fact that she, Rei Ayanami, had started a conversation. That just didn't happen.

It did give Shinji some hope though. If she started a conversation with him, and she never had with anyone else… could it mean that she liked him? No. He squashed that idea down. It was too much to hope for. If he let himself get too hopeful, and it wasn't so, he would just have to endure pain. He didn't want that.

However, it had felt good talking to Rei. Even though he was almost having a nervous breakdown, it was still a nice feeling, being able to talk with her about personal things like that. He supposed that he could ask Rei why she asked him that after the sync test. Then he would be able to talk to her again.

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a muffled screaming from outside of his hatch, announcing the arrival of the Second Child. After about five minutes of indistinct screaming, it seemed that the Second Child had finally ended her tirade and gotten into her plug. Moments later, Shinji's plug began to fill with LCL.

It had taken no small amount of time for Shinji to get used to the yellowish liquid that smelled like blood. He always got this sense of drowning as the liquid slowly filled up the plug, and he always had to force himself to breath in the LCL and not hold his breath. Even though he knew that his blood would be oxygenated once he breathed in the liquid, it still not easy to consciously breathe in a liquid. After the copper tasting liquid finally filled up the plug, he felt the entire capsule moving into position, and soon after he say Misato's face on a view screen to his left, and Rei and Asuka to his right.

"How's it going Shinji?" Misato asked.

"Fine, Misato," Shinji told his guardian.

"Good, we'll have this test over and done in no time, then we can go home."

"Yes, and Shinji and I are going to have a little talk when we get home. Aren't we Shinji?" Asuka said in a voice that dripped with just too much honey, causing Shinji's innate fear of the egotistical pilot to double. She had obviously not forgotten about what she had overheard earlier.

Shinji started to panic, struggling for something to say, when the most unlikely person came to his rescue. For the second time that day, Rei broke her strict rule of not speaking unless spoken too.

"Ikari," she said. Shinji turned to look at the view screen that showed her face to find her looking at him.

"Yes, Ayanami?"

"I would like to speak with you after the tests, if that is alright with you."

"Yes, it is," Shinji said as he vigorously nodded his head.

"Argh, don't think you're getting out of this easy, Shinji. I'll see you when you get home."

Shinji bowed his head and looked at his lap. "Yes, Asuka," he said meekly, while mentally thanking Rei over and over again for delaying his return home.

"Did I miss something here?" Misato asked, confused at each of the children's odd behavior.

"N-no, Misato," Shinji said, hoping that Asuka would keep silent, because he knew that she would make up some story that would humiliate him.

Shinji watched in horror as Asuka opened her mouth to say something—only to be stopped when Dr. Ikagi beat her to the punch. "Enough chit-chat, we need to get this test underway. Pilots, start synchronizing with your Evas."

"Yes, ma'am," Shinji said before sighed with relief and leaned back in his chair and concentrated on his Eva.

* * *

Misato stared at the pilots on the screen. Each was lying back in their entry plug with their eyes closed. She looked over Maya's shoulder and saw each pilot's sync ratio fluctuating the on graph shown on the screen.

"Microsis operation completed," a cool voice said over the intercom. "Inversable graph measurements analyzed."

"So, which dress are you wearing?" Ritsuko asked Misato from behind her clipboard.

"Synchro-position is normal," the intercom said again.

"Oh, for the wedding tomorrow?" Misato said as she turned and looked over her shoulder at her friend. "Well, I wore the pink suit for Kiyomi's wedding, and I wore the dark blue dress for Kotoko's shower..."

"There's that orange one, you haven't wore that one lately," Ritsuko said.

"The orange one?" Misato laughed nervously. "Well there's a reason I haven't worn it..."

"It's too tight?" Ritsuko said, grinning behind her clipboard.

"Ah, thank you!" Misato growled at the doctor. She sighed. "Maybe I should just buy a new one. Man, all these stupid weddings are killing my bank account."

"Tell me about it, we've been to so many showers I'm almost broke."

Misato and Ritsuko were friends from college, and recently all their old friends have been getting married. Rather than celebrating the joyous occasion that it should be, they feared it because in Japan they each had to give the host couple a gratuity of about 20,000 yen, roughly 200 American dollars.

"Yeah! It's like everyone's in a rush to get married before they turn thirty," Misato said as she scratched her head.

"And you don't want to be the last one still single, do you?" Ritsuko said.

"Excuse me!" Misato raged at her old friend. She stood their smoldering for a moment.

"Ok, you guys can take off now," Ritsuko said to the children. "Good work."

Asuka's voice came over the comm. "It's about time! These stupid experiments are really getting on my nerves!"

"Speaking of which, Shinji seems more subdued than usual," Ritsuko said to Misato.

"Hmm, well I think something happened with Asuka at school today, but besides that… well, tomorrow's the day."

"Oh yeah, tomorrow," Ritsuko said as she looked up at Shinji on the monitor.

* * *

Shinji peeked his head out of the men's locker, looking both ways down the hall for Asuka. He had changed out of his plug suit as fast as he could so he might be able to get to the elevator before Asuka finished changing. Seeing that she was nowhere in sight, Shinji crept down the hall like a burglar afraid of being caught, looking around corners before rounding them. Finally reaching the elevator without incident, Shinji pushed the up button, and waited impatiently for door to open.

"Ikari," a voice said from behind him.

Shinji almost leaped out of his skin until he saw Rei standing behind him. "Oh, Rei. You scared me, I thought you were Asuka."

Rei nodded, though she felt a small twinge of anger at being mistaken for… her.

The anger would have been imperceptible to everyone, except for Shinji. Shinji, who had studied Rei's face for as long as he'd known her, could tell that he had said something that upset her, though he didn't understand how he could tell.

"But I'm glad you're not." He smiled at her.

Rei looked at him and glanced away, hiding yet another blush that came to her face. She had no idea why he was affecting her so. The door to the elevator opened and she stepped in, with Shinji close behind her.

Just as the doors were about to close, Shinji saw a figure running down the hall towards them. A red haired figure.

"You get back here!" she yelled. "I'm not letting you get off easily, do you hear me? Don't you dare let that door close, Shinji! Shinji!" Just as Asuka reached the elevator, the doors shut, and the elevator began to move slowly upwards, leaving Asuka below.

Shinji let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and he glanced at Rei. There was a small smile on her lips as she looked at the closed door. Shinji blinked. No, there was no smile, just the same emotionless face that Rei always wore. He must have imagined it.

Shinji walked to the corner of the elevator and leaned against the wall, taking some weight off of his legs. He looked at Rei who was still standing where she had since she entered the elevator.

"Um, thank you for getting me out of that bit of trouble with Asuka earlier," Shinji said hesitantly.

Rei turned her head a bit and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You're welcome, Ikari; however, I really do wish to speak with you."

Shinji nodded. "I know, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't, but… thanks all the same."

Rei nodded. For some reason his thanks made her feel warm. It was a puzzling matter, and she resolved that she would think about it later.

A silence ensued in the elevator. Feeling uncomfortable, Shinji blindly groped for something to talk about until he finally grasped something.

"Um, tomorrow," he said, not quite sure how to start. "I, er, have to see my father tomorrow. What should I talk to him about, Ayanami?"

Rei was puzzled. "I don't understand, why are you asking me?"

"Because I've seen you talking with my father and actually enjoying it." When he got no response from Rei, he said, "Say, my father, what's he like?" _A cold heartless bastard_, he thought, but despite that, he really wished that he could know his father like a son should.

"I don't know."

"Oh," Shinji said, feeling a bit depressed that she couldn't tell him anything about his father, and that his attempt at conversing turned out to be a fluke. Then he brightened a little knowing that the less Rei knew of his father, the better off she would be.

Rei thought about how Shinji had been watching her for a while now, and about how he seemed disappointed when she couldn't properly answer his question. "Have you been watching me, because you wanted to ask that question?"

Shinji raised his hand to his head and nervously grinned. "Ah, well, you see…" Shinji trailed off. That wasn't the reason that he had been watching her, but how was he supposed to tell her that he had been staring at her because he found her to be exceedingly beautiful. Deciding to quickly change the topic, he said, "Hey, when we were cleaning, that cloth, the way you wringed it, it reminded me of a mother when you squeezed it."

Rei's eyes widened, though Shinji couldn't see it from where he was. "A mother?" she said.

"Ah, yeah. It just, reminded me of a mum." He laughed. "I bet you'll make a great mother, Rei." He laughed again.

Rei, thinking about the implications of such a statement, failed to notice how he avoided her question, and she blushed for a yet a third time this day. "You… embarrass me," she said to him.

Shinji's face fell. He had embarrassed her. He didn't want to give her any reason to not like him, so he quickly said, "I'm sorry, Ayanami. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me," while bowing and scraping.

Rei was so startled by Shinji's sudden apology that she turned around and looked at him. When she saw the urgent pleading in his eyes, she said, "I… forgive you, Ikari," her mouth contorting to form words she had never been implored to speak before.

Shinji's face lit up and he stood straighter as he said, "Thank you, Ayanami!" He looked like he was about to embrace her.

Rei nodded and turned to the door as the elevator opened onto level one of NERV headquarters. She and Shinji exited the elevator and walked towards the gate leading out of the NERV complex.

When they had exited the building and stepped out into sunlight, the sun was still high in the sky even though it was close to six o'clock. Because Second Impact hand knocked Earth back onto it's original axis and froze the seasons in place, it was summer year round in Japan.

Shinji turned to Rei. "Um, Ayanami," he said.

Rei turned to look at Shinji, "Yes, Ikari?" she said.

"Well, um, where do you want to talk?" he asked, still nervous.

"It would be acceptable if you were to escort me to my apartment, and we could talk there, as well as while en route," she said, her tone as bland as ever.

"Um, yes," Shinji said. Even if it was just so Rei could talk to him, he was still walking her home. Walking a girl home was something he had only done with Asuka, though that was because they both lived in the same apartment. He felt nervous, though he couldn't really explain why.

"Let us proceed, then," Rei said as she started walking out of the NERV parking lot and onto the sidewalk.

Shinji ran to catch up with her, and stepped into place beside her as she walked along. Hands in his pockets, he was staring at the ground as they both walked towards their destination.


	2. Chapter 2: Respectful Goodnight

**Chapter Two**

"So," Shinji slowly said as he tried to start a conversation with the person walking beside him, "I heard Ritsuko say that your synchro-ratio rose by three points today. Congratulations!"

Rei continued to look straight ahead as she answered, "Yes, I have indeed improved since the last test; however I am still far behind compared to yours and Pilot Soryu's."

"Don't worry, I'm sure that you'll catch up soon."

"I was not worried, Ikari. I was just stating the fact that my synchro-ratio is far inferior to that of yours and the Second Child's."

Shinji put his arms behind his head as he walked. "Oh, well, I'm sure that you will catch up anyway."

"That is highly unlikely, Ikari."

"'You'll never get anywhere with an attitude like that,' Misato always says," Shinji told Rei. "If you doubt yourself, you wont be able to accomplish what you want to."

Shinji suddenly jerked to a stop.

Noticing that Shinji was no longer by her side, Rei also slowed to a stop and looked over her shoulder. Shinji was standing there staring at her—no—through her. His eyes were unfocused and he looked as if he was thinking very deeply about something.

"Ikari," Rei said, trying to get his attention.

She was surprised when she felt a twinge of annoyance when he took no notice of her, but she put it aside and walked up to Shinji.

"Ikari," she said when she was standing right in front of him.

Shinji jerked to alert when he heard her voice.

"Oh! Sorry Ayanami, I was… thinking," he said while scratching his head.

"Let us continue," she said as she turned and continued walking down the sidewalk and past the giant skyscraper's of Tokyo-3.

"Yes, sorry," Shinji said again as he ran to catch up to her.

When his brain caught up with the advice coming out of is moth that he was giving to Rei, Shinji's legs had stopped working as he realized what the words he was uttering were. Shinji was telling Rei that she wouldn't succeed if she didn't believe that she could, just like how Shinji wouldn't succeed because he didn't believe he could.

_I really like Rei, but what if—I want to succeed, but if I fail—what if she hates me? I'm no good, but thinking that wont help me any. If I only… I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away! _Shinji came to a conclusion. He would tell Rei how he felt.

"Um… Ayanami?"

"Yes, Ikari?"

"Uh… nice weather today, isn't it?"

He just wouldn't tell her now. _I'm an idiot._

She stared at him.

Shinji looked at the ground. _I'm a big idiot._

"Well," Shinji said when he finally looked up from the ground. _I'll tell her eventually, but I will tell her._ For now, he settled on just walking with her. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Ayanami?"

Rei stayed silent for several second. Then, without turning to face Shinji, she said, "Do you still dislike the commander?"

Shinji sighed. He knew that he should have expected something like this after the talk that they had before the tests today. He was about to say that he was no longer sure if he hated his father, but then the memory of a bandaged wrapped Rei bleeding on the floor popped into his mind. Yes, he definitely _disliked_ the commander.

Before he could stop himself, he said, "I hate him." Realizing what he just said, he squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered what happened last time he had a conversation like this with Rei.

However, what he feared would happen never did. Shinji slowly opened one eye, and, finding all seemed safe, opened the other.

"Ikari?" she said, confused by his peculiar behavior.

"Ah, well, I was afraid that you were going to hit me."

"I was not about to harm you Ikari." To her surprise, she found that the idea of harming him made her feel sad. _Why does Ikari make me feel this way?_

"Well, I thought—last time we had a conversation like this, you slapped me. I thought that you were about to do so again."

"I slapped you because you were showing disrespect to the commander. You do not need to like him to respect him."

"Pen-Pen has more of my respect than he does," Shinji declared, referring to Misato's hot spring penguin in an uncharacteristic streak of defiance. He knew that she would slap him now, but he could bear it.

After reflecting on his memories of his first meeting with Rei, he had come to a conclusion about his father. His father would never have his respect after what he did to Rei. Shinji knew that his father had used his bare hands to extract Rei from a scorching entry plug, but Shinji would never believe that his father would rescue her out of concern for her life. It was more likely that he was trying to preserve what pilots he had. He waited for the slap; however, once again it didn't come.

Rei was having a difficult time. Her hand was refusing to do her bidding. At first she thought that she might be paralyzed, but when she tried to do something else other than raise it to slap Shinji, it would move.

Shinji opened his eyes and found Rei frowning down at her hand. He had expected to get an emotional reaction out of her, however her current disposition was not what he had been expecting.

"Ayanami?"

"Yes, Ikari?"

"We're at your apartment building."

Rei stopped walking and looked up from her hand at the complex that housed her apartment.

It was an old building, though ancient might have been used to better describe it. The gray paint on the outside was chipping off, and the metal handrail of the stars was completely rusted. It was in one of the darker parts of Tokyo-3, where everything was old and dilapidated.

Rei walked to the stair well and proceeded to climb it.

"Here," Shinji held out his hand. "I'll carry your portfolio," he said with a smile, remembering his earlier mental proclamation, and as a silent thank-you for not slapping him.

"I can manage," she said, angry with Shinji for his disrespect of the commander. However, when she saw that he was mildly disappointed, she was unable to keep her anger and relented. "Here."

"Thank you, Ayanami," Shinji said, somehow getting who should thank who mixed up.

Rei nodded, and proceeded to walk up four flights of stairs.

Shinji was breathing heavily by the time he reached the top of the stairs. "Don't you have an elevator?" he said.

Rei nodded.

"Well why don't you use it?" Shinji said, puzzled that she would walk up and down four flights of stairs everyday when she could take a ride.

"The elevator is not functional," she said as she walked across the small hallway.

"Oh."

The hallway that they were currently walking down had doors to apartments on one side, and the other was open space, allowing them to look straight out at Tokyo-3. The sun was currently setting, and washed the wall of doors in orange light.

Rei stopped at her apartment, number 402. She reached down and turned the handle on the door and it swung open.

"Don't you ever lock your door, Ayanami?" Shinji asked as he stood with her at the entrance to her apartment.

"I do not."

"But aren't you worried that someone might steal something, or be waiting for you inside?"

"No one ever has," she said and then walked into her apartment.

"Whatever, I still don't like it…" Shinji mumbled to himself as he followed her in.

The sight that greeted him inside was a familiar one; yet even expecting it, it still horrified Shinji to step into such a dirty apartment. His free hand twitched as his eyes darted for something, anything that he could clean with. The walls were covered with grime and dirt, and the floor was filthy. None of her possessions were on the floor; it was all dirt, grime, and mold. Taking off his shoes at the door, Shinji followed Rei inside.

He walked down the short hall, and then entered the main room of the apartment. Normally, it would have served as a living room, but its current owner used it as a bedroom. There was an old metal frame with a mattress on it in one corner, and next to that was a small table, on which rested a beaker full of water and a glasses case.

Shinji walked over to Rei's bed and put her portfolio down upon it.

As he was getting up, he turned his head and saw the glasses case that rested on the table. They housed is father's glasses, and Shinji had once put them on when he thought that Rei wasn't around.

Shinji blushed furiously as he remembered what had happened after that.

Dr. Ikagi had asked Shinji to deliver Rei's new NERV card a few days before the fifth angel attacked. When he arrived at her apartment, he had found the door unlocked and entered. He went into the room and saw the glasses case. He was confused because Rei didn't wear glasses. So he opened them, and found his father's glasses. For some reason unknown to him, he felt his hands remove them from the case and place them on his head. That's when he heard the door shut behind him.

Shinji had turned around to find a very wet, Rei Ayanami exiting the shower with only a towel around her. He immediately tried to explain what he was doing there and started tripping over his tongue because of her state of undress. She slowly started approaching him, intending to remove the glasses. Shinji, however, had forgotten about the glasses and was suffering trauma from a nude girl wrapped in a towel approaching him. When Rei reached for the glasses, Shinji suddenly tripped and fell forwards… and onto Rei.

The towel had been flung away, and Shinji found himself over a not only very wet, but now a very naked Rei Ayanami. She was on the floor, and he was over her, on his knees, with one hand on her right breast. He was so shocked at the position that he found himself in that he could do nothing but stare at her.

After about a minute, Rei had asked him to get off of her. That's when Shinji realized where his hand been. He leaped back off of her, apologizing over and over and over again while explaining what he was doing there. Rei just calmly got up and got dressed right there in front of him. Though Shinji had turned away, every so often he had found himself looking at her out of the corner of his eye while she was doing so. When Rei had finished dressing, she put the glasses back in the case, and left her apartment, leaving Shinji still standing there. That was the first time that Shinji had ever been to her apartment, and it was in the same state of filth as it was now.

Shinji looked away from the glasses case and saw Rei looking at him. He blushed.

"Is something the matter, Ikari?" she asked.

"N-no," he said. "Nothing's wrong."

She nodded, and walked over to her bed and sat down on it. Shinji leaned against the wall near the head of the bed.

"Ayanami," Shinji said.

"Yes, Ikari?" she said.

"Why do you keep my father's old glasses?"

"I keep them as a reminder that he saved my life once, and that I am in his debt for it."

Shinji stared at her incredulously.

"You? In his debt? Ha!" He shook his head. "Ayanami, think about it. How many times have we saved the lives of all NERV personal—no—the lives of the entire populous of Earth? You've paid back that debt to him many times over! If anyone is in debt to anyone, it's the world in debt to us, and that includes my father."

Rei had to admit that this had never occurred to her.

"Ikari," she said. "Why do you disrespect the commander?"

He knew that this question would come sooner or later, so he had steeled himself for this moment. "Because he throws away people's lives! Because he abandoned me!" he yelled. His anger peaked and he clenched his hands and turned away from Rei so that she couldn't see his face. "But before all that, the reason is because he used you, Ayanami."

A sudden gust of wind blew open the door to Rei's apartment with a bang, making everything in the room shutter while startling Shinji and causing him to jump. Rei, however, was already too stunned to notice the wind that hand blown her hair into her face.

Her eyes widened. It was one thing for him to pilot the Eva for her, though she still didn't understand why he did, but to think that she was also the reason that Shinji disrespected his father was incomprehensible for the young girl.

"Used…me? I do not understand, Ikari. He uses you and Soryu as well. We are the only ones who currently pilot Evangelions, and therefore the commander must use us as—"

"That's not what I mean. When the third angel attacked and I refused to pilot Unit One, he used you to force me to pilot."

"I… do not understand."

"He knew that if you piloted the Eva you would have been killed! He knew that when I saw you brought in on the hospital be that I would also know that as well. He knew that I would have rather gotten in the Eva myself rather than let you die in it. He used you against me. But what's worse, even if I hadn't piloted it, he still would have made you pilot, even though you would have been killed. That's why he doesn't have my respect; that's why I hate him."

With every word Shinji said, memories of the commander floated up in Rei's mind. Before Shinji had come, he was the only one who cared for her, or so she thought. He brought her up by forcing her to follow command, told her that interacting with people would only bring her harm, taught her that emotions were weak, but most of all, he taught her that she was replaceable, and thus worthless. Now she was remembering every kind thing that he had ever done for her; however, she was seeing it in a different light. There were more in the memories than had been there originally.

"I… I require some time alone, Ikari," Rei barley managed to get out.

Shinji was immediately sorry about what he said, but seeing that she hadn't hit him yet, he supposed things weren't too bad. He decided to honor her wishes and retrieved his shoes.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, Ayanami?" Shinji called out as he was about to leave through the door.

No answer.

"I'll see you later, then." He closed the door behind him.

He walked up to the railing across from her apartment that kept people from falling over the edge and to their doom. The sun was just above the horizon, bathing everything in a heavenly red-orange light.

He stood there for some time, occasionally glancing back at Rei's door, before he finally sighed and started home for Misato's apartment, It would be dark before he got there, she lived in a much better part of the city than Rei did.

As Shinji walked down the four flights of stairs to the road, he wondered if he had done the right thing back there. He wondered if telling Rei his feelings, at least some of them, had been a good idea. He had no idea if she hated him now or not. He knew that it would probably help her have a better life if she understood what his father was. Even if she hated him for it, he wanted her to understand, so that she wouldn't have to live under his father's tyranny and longer.

He reached the bottom step and looked up at where Rei's apartment was one more time. _Please don't hate me._

* * *

Rei sat there on her bed, unable to move. Her constant faith in her commander was slowly being shattered as memories came into her head. There was the time that the commander had burnt his hands to open the hatch to her entry plug. _He cared about me, and he saved me; that's why I kept his glasses._ Then she remembered the very similar event when Shinji himself had opened the hatch and gotten his hands burned as well. She saw both memories, side by side; one with Gendo, and one with his son. Gendo looked relieved and asked if she was all right. Shinji was crying and smiling at her. 

But what she saw the most difference in was their eyes. Gendo's eyes never changed at all. While his expression expressed concern, the look in his eyes told that it would have only been a minor; if annoying problem had she perished. But Shinji, she saw joy in Shinji's eyes that she was still among the living. He was crying so hard with relief that she was alive. And then… then he had asked her to smile.

Memory after memory came, each one with a new view of the commander. Eventually, she grew tired and fell asleep.

But even sleep didn't stop the memories; it just served to bring out one that she had been in too much pain at the time to remember…

* * *

It felt like rising from the depths of water, as she had done so many times while swimming. A light was growing above her, and noises were distorted; warped, like how she would hear them while underwater. She didn't like the dark nothingness of below; she wanted the light. She didn't know why, or even who she was, just that she wanted to reach the shimmering light above her. Finally, she broke through the surface. 

The first thing she saw was the old ceiling of the hospital, the ceiling that she hated. Rei looked around and saw that she was in a bed. She was still recovering from the synchronization failure in which Unit Zero had gone berserk. She had ejected the entry plug to escape the images that had been assaulting her mind. The entry plug shot out of the Eva and around the room. The LCL had leaked out of the plug, so any resistance it would have given as she was thrown around the plug was gone.

When the plug had stopped moving, she was in excruciating pain. It seemed like hours before she heard the hatch pop open, and the commanders face pop in and demand to know if she was well. Since then she had been recovering in the hospital, most of the time she was sedated because the pain was too great for her to cope with while conscious. Why had she been awoken?

"Rei?" she heard the commander's voice from a speaker to her left.

"Yes," she said, her voice very weak and faint.

"Our spare is unusable, you will do it again," the commander commanded from the opposite end of the link, which Rei deduced was the cage of Unit One.

Even though she was in so much pain, she could not defy her commander, especially the commander who saved her life. "Yes Sir."

She felt the bed she was on start to move out of the room she was in and down the hall. The small bags filled with liquid with tubes running down to IV's in her arms were swaying as the bed she was upon rolled and moved down the halls and into the elevator at the end of the hall, the wheels squeaking all the way.

She tried to turn her head, but the pain in doing so was too great, so she just let her head remain in the same position. She stared straight up at the ceiling of the elevator with the one eye that didn't have a bandage over it, which in turn was one of the few places on her body that didn't have some sort of bandage on it. Out of the corner of her eyes she could she four nurses who were the ones who had been moving her bed. After a while, the doors opened, and she was wheeled out into the cave of Evangelion Unit One.

The first thing that she saw was a boy. He was wearing a dress shirt and pants: a school uniform. He had sort, dark brown hair and cobalt eyes. He was staring at her. As she went past him, she realized that he must be the one who should have piloted Unit One but had refused. She bore him no malice though. Emotions were weak the commander said. She looked at the boy and noticed something about him. _He looks like… the commander._

Suddenly the entire room shifted, and Rei felt terrible pain shoot through her entire body as she was dumped from her bed. Landing on the hard metal catwalk didn't do anything to help the pain, and instead only worsened it to the point that Rei was about to weep. She could here shouting, a clang of metal, a splash, and some more shouting, but it didn't matter to her. The pain she was in filled the entirety of her mind, and none of the other five senses could intrude.

For several minutes she could feel nothing but pain. Then she suddenly felt arms gently wrap around her and pull her up so that she was resting in the arms of the person. _Commander Ikari?_ She thought. The pain was still very great, but somehow it had lessened enough so that she could open her teary eyes. _Not commander Ikari. It's the boy. Where is the commander?_ Her eyes sought him out. She looked over the boy who was holding her so gently and saw the commander up in a window, looking down at her as if she were just some piece of malfunctioning equipment. _No…_

The arms holding her squeezed her a little tighter, and once again the pain lessened. Though she knew that the pain should actually be getting worse as a result of it, it somehow didn't. She felt safe with this person, even more safe than she had with Commander Ikari.

Suddenly she heard a voice very near to her call out

"I'll do it!" the boy yelled, turning his head to face the commander, silencing the cacophony of yelling that had been there a moment before. "I'll pilot it!"

He turned his head back towards Rei and at her. She was already drifting back into unconsciousness, but she heard what she said.

"For you," he whispered so quietly that no one else could hear him, thinking that Rei had already lost consciousness. He brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I pilot it for you."

* * *

Rei jerked up in her bed as soon as the memory finished. She had never dreamt before. Why she had done so now, and why it was a repressed memory, she didn't know. Until now, she could never recollect exactly what happened during the activation of Unit One. She had only been able to recall bits and pieces of that memory. The drugs she had been on, coupled with the intense pain had sent the memory so far into her subconscious that she could never retrieve it. Now she had it back, and she couldn't get the image of the commander staring down at her from his high perch as if she weren't even there. As if she were a doll. 

It was dark out now. The light of the full moon drifted in through her window and put a shaft of ghostly light upon the stand next to her bed. She stood up and walked over to it. Paying no mind to the glass beaker, she lifted up the glasses case and opened it. She removed the glasses.

She held the glasses in both hands and held them up in front of her.

"I no longer respect you," she told the glasses in her normal emotionless voice. "I no longer like you. I am no longer your doll. I will follow your orders in battle, but you have lost my respect. Shinji now has the respect I have mistakenly given to you. Shinji is my commander now."

With that she walked to her door, opened it and walked to the railing that kept her from walking off the side of the building. The wind blew hard, whipping her hair and her uniform out behind her. She took a final look at what she held, and threw the commander's glasses as far and as hard as she could. She waited and listened for them to shatter. When she finally heard the tickling of broken glass, and the sudden meow of a cat that had just received a bump to the head, she turned back to her apartment and went inside. Closing the door behind her.

She returned to her room and removed her school uniform, until she wore nothing at all. She folded her cloths and placed them on the table next to her bed. Approaching her bed, she removed the portfolio that Shinji had set there earlier, and climbed under the single blanket the bed had.

Her lasts thoughts as she drifted to sleep were, _Shinji said he'd feel better if I had a lock on my door. Maybe…_

* * *

At the time Rei deeply engulfed in her repressed memory, Shinji had been carefully approaching the door to the apartment he shared with Misato and Asuka. Having refused to stay with his father when he arrived at NERV, Shinji had needed a place to stay. Misato had graciously taken in, though she had had motives other than being a generous friend; she would have someone to dump all the chores on. When Asuka had come to Tokyo-3 from Germany, she too moved in with Misato, much to Shinji's dismay. He and Asuka never got along well. She was always screaming at him, insulting him, calling him a pervert, or upset with him for apologizing all the time. 

Shinji shook his head. He really didn't understand her, and likely would never.

When reached the door, he reached out and slowly turned the knob. It was unlocked. That meant that someone was home. Shinji inwardly groaned, remembering how Asuka had sounded earlier today. He slowly and quietly pushed open the door and peaked his head in. He couldn't see anyone, but he could here the television on in the living room. Slinking into the apartment, he closed the door behind him, and made his way towards his room.

He was so close to his goal, but he still had one obstacle left: the door to the living room. He had to pass it on his way to his room. Moving so slowly that he couldn't be seen, Shinji tip-toed pass the doorway, squeezing himself against the opposite wall. He didn't dare look into the room, for fear that the motion of turning his head might catch Asuka's eye.

Once he was across the boundary, he inwardly sighed in relief, knowing that he made it past the danger line. He looked up at the door before him. It had a sign that Misato made for him saying, "Shinji's Lovely Suite." He smiled as he slid the door open and stepped in.

Only to be tackled by a mad mass of red.

"Got you, Third Child!" Asuka said as she stood over his fallen form. "You thought you could get past me, but no-one gets past the great Asuka Langley Soryu!" She reached down and grabbed Shinji by the collar, and lifted him up, much in the same way Touji had done earlier, though his feet did stay on the floor this time, if only barely.

"Now," she said in an ominous voice. "You are going to tell me who it is you were ogling today at school."

"No one! I wasn't ogling anyone! Please put me down, Asuka!" Shinji said as he struggled to get loose.

Her eyes narrowed, and then took on a devious light. "Oh, fine," she said, and threw Shinji across the hall.

"Ow!" Shinji said as he hit the opposite wall. Even after living with her for months, Shinji was still surprised of Asuka's strength.

"You really should stand up for yourself, idiot," she said, walking over to him and extending her hand to help him get up.

Shinji stared at her hand. Asuka was never nice to him unless she had some ulterior motive, so it was only natural for him to be wary of her extended hand.

"What's wrong with you, Shinji? You got some fetish for hands, you pervert?" Then she grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet.

"Well keep your dirty thoughts off of me and my beautiful body!"

Shinji felt a little better now that Asuka had reverted to her normal self.

"I'm not a pervert, Asuka!" he said, starting up their daily bantering.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Seeing that his would get him nowhere, Shinji though up his hands and turned to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Asuka demanded.

"I'm going to make dinner, Asuka. I'm hungry, and I'm sure you are too."

"Oh. Right," Asuka said as Shinji entered the kitchen and started removing ingredients for the stir-fry he was planning to make for dinner.

Cooking was the one thing that only Shinji took care of. While he usually was the one who also kept the apartment in respectable condition, though that was a challenge with Misato living here, he was the only one who cooked. Asuka felt that it was beneath her to cook, though Shinji suspected that she really just didn't know how. Misato… well, Misato's cooking made a better poison than arsenic to anyone other than her. Besides, she had this strange idea that anything would taste good if you just slopped some curry on it. Anything.

_Where is Misato anyway?_ Shinji thought as he tied on the cooking apron that Misato had gotten him.

"Hey, Asuka!" he called.

"Yeah, idiot?" she yelled from the living room.

"Is Misato still at NERV?" he asked.

"No, she's getting ready to go to one of her college friends weddings, she won't be back till late."

"Oh, ok."

That meant that he'd been alone in the apartment with Asuka for a while, and considering that he was not really in her good graces at the moment… well, he could think about that later. Right now he had a meal to cook.

Shinji placed a pan on the stove and turned it on, poring a little bit of oil into the pan. While waiting for the pan to heat up, he opened the refrigerator, dug past Misato's endless supply of Yebisu beer, and grabbed an onion, some peppers, and some chicken breast. He stood up, closed the refrigerator, and placed his foodstuffs on the counter. Taking out a knife, he began chopping up the vegetables that he would use. Once done, he poured the vegetables off the cutting board and into the pan, where they started sizzling. Pouring a bit of soy sauce over them, Shinji turned to the chicken breast.

As he was slicing the chicken into thin strips, he thought again of Rei. _I hope she's all right. Hopefully my words didn't upset her too much. What got into me? I never act like that,_ he thought. He looked down at the strips of chicken. _Rei definitely wouldn't like this. She said that she dislikes meat. She didn't even eat the steak when Misato took us out after we defeated the tenth angel._ He poured the chicken onto the pan with the vegetables and added some more soy sauce. He continued to stir the mixture of chicken and vegetables as he waited for them to finish cooking.

Asuka meanwhile had been sitting on the couch in the living room staring at the television. But she wasn't watching it. Her mind was cranking away, formulating a diabolical plan. It seemed that Shinji had some small resistance to her. He wouldn't tell her whom he was ogling. No matter how much he denied it, she knew that he wasn't telling the truth. There was only one thing to do. She needed to use her feminine charms against him, although she cringed from the thought of what she might have to do to get the pervert to talk.

"Asuka! Dinner is ready!" she heard Shinji yell from the kitchen. Hunger over taking her drive to find out whom it was that Shinji had been staring at, she turned to the kitchen and headed for her food. Her plan could wait until after she ate.

Shinji was dishing out the vegetable and chicken stir-fry onto plates at the table as Asuka entered the kitchen. He dumped the rest of it onto his plate, and returned the pan and spatula to the sink, ran water over them for a few seconds, and then returned to the table. He would clean up later.

Kneeling down at his spot at the table, he picked up his chopsticks. Noting that Asuka was already hungrily attacking her food, Shinji proceeded to eat his, starting with the vegetables.

Asuka was enjoying her self immensely. She loved the food, but of course, she would never admit it to Shinji. She looked over at his plate, and noticed that he wasn't eating his chicken. She pointed her chopsticks towards his plate and with a mouthful of chicken, said, "You going vegetarian on me, Third Child?"

"What?" Shinji looked down at his plate. He had eaten all the vegetables, and left the chicken untouched. "No," he said, and grasped a piece of the meat with his chopsticks. Raising it to his mouth, he put it in and chewed it.

Done with his food, he picked up his plate, and unwisely attempted to remove Asuka's plate before she was finished with it. He received a punch to the gut and doubled over.

"Don't take my food! I'm not done!" she shook her fist at him.

"Gah! Okay, Asuka! Sorry!"

Shinji retreated to the kitchen sink and started washing the dishes.

Drying off the last dish, Shinji noticed it was dark out, but he didn't feel like going to sleep just yet. Placed the dish back where it belonged and went to his room to retrieve his Sony SDAT. Upon returning from his "Lovely Suite" with his Walkman, he leaned against the wall of the kitchen and slid down to the floor. Placing the earpieces in his ears, he pushed the play button, and soon all he could hear was his classical music.

Asuka had been sitting at the table this entire time, staring at Shinji. Shinji had noticed it of course, and he had passed it off as her forming some diabolical plan to get him to confess to her. It wasn't something he was too happy to think about. Shinji was right on the dime. Asuka _was_ forming her diabolical plan.

Shinji was still listening to his music, rewinding the tape back to the beginning when he reached the end. He hadn't been feeling very well since dinner, though he couldn't understand why. He must be coming down with something. _I wonder what Rei is doing right now?_ On the other side of the city a cat suddenly meowed loudly as something had unexpectedly come down on it's head. _She's probably sleeping. _He turned his head to the window and saw the full moon._ It's late. I should go to bed._

Shinji turned off his SDAT, stretched his arms back, and yawned. He stood up.

"Goodnight, Asuka."

"Yeah, whatever." Asuka said. She had turned on the television a while ago and it had pulled her attention away from Shinji.

Shinji turned and walked into his bedroom, sliding the door shut behind him. He walked to his bed, and flopped down on in.

"Just you wait, Third Child," Asuka said once Shinji had retreated to his room. "There is no school tomorrow, and we'll have some quality time together." She started laughing to herself.

Suddenly she swung her hand up and hit herself on the forehead.

"Damn!" she said. "I've got that date with whoever the hell that was."

* * *

It was near ten when Shinji awoke. Had he awoken under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have bothered him so much. However, what woke him was a pain in his gut, and the sudden urge to rush to the bathroom. He leapt out of bed and through the apartment, and slammed the door behind him. 

Half an hour later, Shinji left the bathroom. _I must not have cooked the chicken enough last night,_ he mentally groaned. He put a hand to his head. _Asuka is going to kill me if it affects her too._

He cringed when he heard her yell.

"SHINJI! Where's my breakfast!"

"Coming, Asuka!" he said, relaxing now that he knew that it was her usual morning yell. Fifteen minutes later he was serving her, himself, and Misato some fried rice.

"So," Misato said while holding a beer can in her hand. "How was your first time last night?"

"Misato!" Shinji yelled at her, dropping the hot frying pan.

"You think I'd sleep with this pervert!" Asuka yelled, standing up and looming over the table at Misato.

"Now, now, I was just teasing you two," the black-blue haired woman said as she took a sip from her can. "I know Shinji would never do something like that."

"And just what are you implying?" Asuka said as she narrowed her eyes at the major.

"Oh, nothing." She waved off the subject. "So, Shinji," she said once Asuka had returned to her seat. "How are you feeling today?"

"Uh, fine," he said, wondering how she could have known about his problem in the bathroom a little earlier.

"You sure? You know, today's the day."

Shinji's face fell. He had completely forgotten about that.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Alright then. I'll drive you."

"Ah… no thanks, Misato," Shinji said nervously. "I need the exercise."

"Humph," Asuka said, sticking her nose in the air. "More likely he's afraid that he'll die in an accident before he gets there." She looked pointedly at Misato.

"And just what exactly are _you_ implying, Missy? My driving is just fine!"

"Of course it is. After all, it's not like the lines on the road actually mean anything."

"Why you little—!"

As Misato hurled herself over the table to clutch at Asuka, Shinji quietly slipped out the door.

* * *

Rei woke from a dreamless sleep just before ten. Despite the dream she had, which had brought back her memory of meeting Shinji, no others followed, as was normal. She pushed back the covers that were over her, and left her bed. She went to her closet for some clothes to cover her nude body. 

Opening the closet, she found what she had expected. Three extra school uniforms, as well as five pairs of underwear, socks, and bras. Slipping on her undergarments, Rei took down one of the uniforms. They were the only clothes she had to wear, and she saw no reason to get more. They served their purpose just fine. Once she was full dressed, she was able to address the events of the previous day.

She looked to the glasses case, which lay open upon the table next to her bed. _I kept them to remind me of the fact that the commander cared for me, but misinterpreted the situation. He never cared for me. He was just trying to preserve his pool of pilots, just like Shinji said._

Rei was surprised when she realized that she was no longer thinking of Shinji as "Ikari" or "Pilot Ikari," but instead thought of him as Shinji. Thinking back to last night when she had hurled the commander's glasses from the edge of the building, she found that she had been mentally referring to Shinji by his first name. She never called, or even thought, of anyone by his or her first name, not even the commander when she still held a high opinion of him. She was still thinking of it when she remembered what she had to do today.

_The commander ordered me to report to NERV today for work on the dummy plug system. I shall follow his orders, for now. The commander would surely replace me if he thought I wouldn't do as he said._

Just a few days ago, it wouldn't have mattered to Rei if she were replaced. Her life had had only one purpose: to pilot Unit Zero. If she were no longer able to pilot it, her life would have lost purpose, and would have no reason to continue her existence. But now, her ties to the commander broken, she felt another reason to exist.

Shinji made her feel odd, more so now than before yesterday. He was the one who freed her from his father, and for that she felt eternally grateful to him. She felt warm when she thought of him, and now that she had regained her lost memory, she felt the lingering ghost of his touch from when he had held her after she had fallen from her bed and onto the catwalk in front of Unit one.

She felt drawn to him.

But as to why, she couldn't understand. The only other time she had felt any felling like this was when she had still respected the commander, and then it wasn't on this level either. The feeling she felt when she thought of Shinji was exponentially larger than what she had felt for his father.

She wanted to be with him.

Yet she still did not understand this feeling of hers. She would need to ask someone. Of course the first person that came to mind was Shinji, but she didn't think she would be able to ask him. She would spend the day thinking on it. Perhaps she could even see Shinji today. He had said that he need to see his father today, and since the commander almost never left headquarters, she was likely to run into Shinji there.

As she closed the door behind her, she remembered that Shinji had said that he would feel better if there was a lock on her door. _The commander never thought I should have a lock on my door. He really didn't care about me._ But Shinji cared. She would put a request to the commander that a lock be put on her door. Though she loathed the man now, she wouldn't allow it to effect her duties. She used to pilot for the commander, but now, just as Shinji piloted for her, she would pilot for him. She had promised to protect him before their battle with the fifth angel. She would make good that promise, and protect Shinji, even at the cost of her life.

When Rei reached NERV, she immediately sought out Dr. Ikagi. She was the one that oversaw her tests on the Dummy Plug. Upon reaching the doctors office, Rei walked in without knocking, as she usually did.

Ritsuko looked up from the clipboard she was looking at behind her desk when she heard the door to her office shut. There were only two people at NERV who would enter her office without knocking, but since the commander was currently absent from headquarters, Ritsuko knew that she would see a blue-haired, red-eyed girl when she looked up.

"Oh, hello Rei. I assume that you're here for the tests with the dummy plug system," she said, putting her clipboard down.

"Yes, Doctor," Rei replied.

"You won't be testing today Rei. I've rescheduled the tests for next week, I have a wedding that I need to go to tonight, and I was…" Ritsuko paused, remembering what she and the commander had been up to last night, "busy last night."

"Cannot the commander test me?" Rei asked. She was actually grateful for the tests being rescheduled, but she had formed habits over her years under the commanders control, and old habits die hard.

"The commander is not present," Ritsuko said with a grimace. "Today is the anniversary of his wife's death, and he visits her grave every year." It annoyed her that the commander couldn't forget about his past wife and concentrate on her alone.

"Is Pilot Ikari there as well?" Rei asked.

Ritsuko was surprised. It was unlike Rei to ask about anyone other than the commander. Asking instead about his son startled her.

"Yes. How did you know that, Rei?"

"After the sync tests yesterday, Pilot Ikari informed me that he would have to spend time with his father today. He asked me what the commander was like, but I was unable to answer him," Rei said.

Had Rei been anyone else, Ritsuko might have noticed an edge on Rei's voice when ever she referred to the commander, but Rei had spent all of her life keeping her emotions to herself. It was not hard to continue doing.

"I see," Ritsuko said, assuming that the only reason Rei was interested in Shinji was the fact that he was with his father. "Well, I have to leave now."

"When will the commander be returning?" Rei asked. Of course her real reason for asking this was that Shinji was also likely to return when the commander did.

"Not till later, but there will be an airship sent to pick him up. I suppose that they will let you go with them to pick up the commander," Ritsuko said as she was hanging up her labcoat.

Rei nodded. "There is a matter I must discuss with him."

Ritsuko looked over her should at Rei. "What matter?" she said.

"There is no lock on my apartment. The Third Child expressed concern, and I believe that it would be pertinent to have one installed."

"Section 2 keeps watch over your apartment," Ritsuko said, referring to NERV's security. "You shouldn't need a lock."

"I would have one all the same, Doctor. If the Section 2 agents miss something, there would be nothing between an intruder and my apartment."

Ritsuko nodded. "I see your point. Well, I'm off," she said as she ushered Rei out the door.

Rei nodded and turned away from the doctor without saying a word.

She walked down the hallway to the elevator. There was something she needed to do before going to pick up the commander… and see Shinji.

Stepping inside the elevator, Rei pushed a button. Soon the elevator was moving down towards the Eva cages. When it reached the bottom and opened up, Rei stepped out onto the catwalk of Unit One's cage.

She strode purposely to a spot near the edge, careful not to fall into the liquid that filled the room up to the middle of the giant mecha's chest. She lowered herself to the catwalk, and lay down. She looked above her at the small glass room where the command usually stood when overseeing operations on the Eva. She felt again the lingering ghost of Shinji's arms when he had held her in this very spot.

She turned her head from the commander's lookout, and looked at Unit One. It's one-horned, purple face stared out past her, easily five times as tall as she was. She had heard from the commander how during Shinji's first battle, the battle he fought in her place, the Eva's power umbilical had been severed. The Eva ran out of power and had been severely damaged. Everyone had expected Shinji to die.

But when all had seemed lost, the Eva had reactivated itself and went berserk, and destroyed the angel in minutes. No one at NERV could understand what had happened. It should have been impossible for the powerless Eva to activate itself, and yet it happened, and saved Shinji's life.

Rei stood up and walked in front of the face of the Eva. She could see the twin holes in its armor where it's eyes were. She thought of how her own Eva had only one eye, and how the second child's had four. The three Eva's together had seven eyes. She had heard a technician once talk about dice and lucky sevens. Rei didn't know about the dice, but this certainly seemed to by one of those sevens.

Staring at its purple face a little while longer, Rei finally addressed Shinji's Eva.

"You saved Shinji," Rei said to the Evangelion, quietly enough that the surveillance devices in the room couldn't pick her voice up. The Evangelion didn't respond and stayed inactive, as it should have. "The commander once had my respect," she told the Eva, "but Shinji helped show me that my respect was wrongly placed. He has my respect now. You saved him, had you not done that, I would still falsely believe that the commander cared for me. In that way, you are also responsible for freeing me. You too have my respect.

"But you also have my respect because you saved him. I do not wish any harm to ever come to Shinji. My own body acted against my will when it did not allow me to strike him for his disrespect to the commander yesterday. Shinji may only think of you as pain, and he is right to do so. I know that the pain is not your fault; you are used by the commander as much as Shinji and I are. I do not blame you for the pain caused to him, but I wish that I could do something to stop the pain. It is for me he pilots, he said so he, so it is my fault that he is in pain. I don't want that. I will protect him, and I know that you will do the same."

Rei finished the longest speech she had ever given in her life, and to a non-operation Eva of all things. However, as she looked at the unit, she felt a change in the air. Because her experience with emotions had been limited throughout her life, it took her a while to identify that which she was now receiving.

It was contentment. She didn't know how, but she somehow sensed that what she had done had made the Eva content with its current existence, knowing that others knew that it was being used against its will, being forced to do the bidding of another.

Rei nodded at the Eva, and turned to leave. As she walked by the spot where Shinji had held her, she recalled the words from that day Shinji said that were meant for her and her alone.

"For you," he had said. "I pilot it for you."

"For me…" she whispered.

She felt something tug within her chest. She quickly placed a hand over where she had felt the tug.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump. _

It was her heart.

Fearing at first that she may be having a heart attack, she started making her way towards the elevator with a hurry, meaning to get to the infirmary. She slowed down when she realized that what she felt was not one of the symptoms of a heart attack. She had been afraid that she would lose her life. Lose Shinji.

She felt the tug again, and realized that it came whenever she thought of him.

"Why do you affect me so, Shinji?" she whispered to herself.

She reached the elevator and stepped in when the doors opened. Pressing a button, she saw Unit One vanish as the doors slid shut, obscuring it from view.

* * *

"It's been three years, since we were last here," Gendo Ikari said to his son. 

They were in an expansive graveyard. Identical gravestones were laid out as far as the eye could see. Shinji was kneeling in front of one of these grave markers, holding a bouquet of flowers.

**Ikari, Yui  
**_1977-2004_

"That's when I ran away," Shinji said, remembering how his father had abandoned him when he left. "I haven't come back here since then. I just don't believe that my mom is really resting here. I don't even remember her face."

"Burying memories is man's way of surviving," Gendo said to his son. "But there are some things a man should never forget. Yui taught me that one, irreplaceable thing, Shinji. That is the reason I come here, to confirm that commitment."

Shinji stood up, but he kept his eyes on his mother's grave. "You don't have a picture of her?"

"No photographs. Even this grave is an artifice. Nothing remains."

Shinji sighed. "It's like my teacher said, you cast everything away."

"Everything is kept in my heart. I'm satisfied with that."

They were silent for a while, both staring at Yui's grave. The silence was broken when a NERV aircraft came down from the sky, the noise from its jet engines shaking the ground beneath Shinji's feet.

Gendo looked at the aircraft. "Our time is up," he said. "I'm leaving now." He walked towards the landing craft.

Shinji turned around and looked at the aircraft that had come to pick up his father. He looked in one of the windows near the top, and saw Rei looking straight at his father. No, her eyes were looking past his father. She was looking at him.

"Father!" Shinji yelled. Gendo turned around and looked at his son expectantly. _I know he's a bastard know, but I wish that he could change. Maybe then Rei won't be used anymore._ "I'm glad that we could talk together today."

Gendo just stared at his son. "Indeed," he said before turning and entering the aircraft. The roar of it's engines were deafening as it took off.

Shinji stared at it, and then started walking past the graves in the orange light of the setting sun. He had been there for the better part of the day, and now he was heading home.

Rei watched as Shinji turned away from the aircraft and started walking past the graves markers. As soon as the craft had flown over the graveyard, Rei's eyes had sought out Shinji and his father, and her eyes never left Shinji until he was out of sight.

If it hadn't been normal for Rei to stare out the window, Gendo would havelooked over her shoulder and followed her line of sight to his son, but he didn't. He was seated in the seat next to Rei. As he looked forward, he started thinking of the work he would need to get back to once he returned to NERV headquarters.

Rei was looking at the commander. The feeling she had once had when near him was gone; the daughterly affection she had once felt no longer existed. In its place was another feeling. Anger. She was angry for using her, angry for using her against Shinji. She was angry for him abandoning Shinji, angry for all the injustices he had committed against his son.

None of this showed on her face, however. Being brought up by the commander, she had been schooled in how to keep her face empty of any and all emotions. She was using the commander's own teachings against him, and that fact made her feel better. So he had no idea how she felt about him when she spoke to him.

"Commander Ikari," she said to him.

"What, Rei?" he said, not looking at her.

Rei noticed that his voice was cold, and that the warmness that she had imagined been there in times past really was just that: her imagination. "My apartment currently does not posses a lock. I have discussed it with Doctor Ikagi and believe that it is necessary that one be installed."

The commander looked at Rei, a little surprised that she should be asking for a lock after years of living on her own. However, seeing no reason to refuse her request, he simply nodded and looked forward again. "I will see to it," he said.

When they reached NERV and exited the craft, Rei immediately turned from the commander and left, heading towards the exit.

Stepping out into the sunset of Tokyo-3, Rei found that she was tired, despite the fact that she had slept in today. Stress was something new to her, and she was very stressed out over what she felt for Shinji. 

She decided that she would return to her apartment and retire for the day.

* * *

Shinji finally made it back to the city. He had been walking for a long time, but the sun wasn't finished setting yet. He figured that it would probably be a good idea for him to return to Misato's apartment and practice his cello, but he had something else he wanted to do first. He still didn't know if Rei hated him or not after what he said yesterday. He headed to her apartment. 

When he entered the part of the city that her apartment building resided, he frowned. He definitely did not like the fact that she was living so close to some of the people he saw here. He was sure that some of them were going to try and rob him. Rei didn't have a lock on her door, so there would be nothing to stop her from being robbed… or worse. Getting a little worried, Shinji quickened his step and soon made it to her apartment building. He went up the four flights two steps at a time and was panting by the time he reached her apartment.

He knocked on her door, and called out, "Ayanami?" No answer. She probably wasn't home, but after seeing all the disturbing looking people on his way here, Shinji was just a little paranoid. "I'm coming in, he called." He pushed open the door and stepped in.

Now Shinji would never admit it to himself, but he was always secretly hoping that the incident that occurred when he first came to her apartment might someday re-occur. He was a boy after all. So when he saw that her shoes were by the door, he had another reason to proceed farther into her apartment.

However, both his fears, and his hopes, were squashed when reached her living room. He could see her lying in her bed, her breath coming slow and even. He was relieved that she was safe. He walked over to her.

_She's so beautiful,_ he thought. He was at the edge of her bed, looking at her calm, sleeping face. He watched her chest rise and fall as she took each breath. She moved in her sleep, moving the blanket off of her a little bit.

Shinji's eyes widened. Though it hadn't revealed any parts of her body that would be clothed in public, the moving of the blanket revealed enough to show that she wasn't wearing anything under it. Slightly panicking, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it back up to her neck.

As he was leaning over her, she mumbled something in her sleep. Shinji smiled, knowing that she was having a dream. He couldn't make out any of her indistinct murmurings. Then she said something that was clearly audible to Shinji, and it startled him.

"Mmn… thank you, Shinji…" she whispered in her sleep.

Shinji's face froze, believing that she was awake. However, her breathing remained slow and steady. He looked at her face again. She had stopped murmuring.

Shinji didn't know what dream she was having that had caused her to thank him, but he hoped it meant that she didn't hate him. What startled him even more than her thanking him, and that was pretty startling since she never thanked anyone, was that she called him by his first name. Rei never called anyone by their first name.

As he stood their, leaning over Rei's head, her beauty, helped along by the fact that he had just heard her thanking him, had him entranced. Before he knew it, he was lowering his face to hers.

He closed his eyes when his lips met hers. _They're so soft,_ he thought as he kissed her. There was no doubt in his mind about how felt about her now. First yesterday she had gotten him speak up for himself and how he hated seeing his father used her, and now was kissing her. Shinji wasn't one to easily commit to doing something like that, and yet here he was with his lips touching hers. He stayed there, bent over her face with their lips touching for a full minute before he finally pulled away from her.

He looked at her. She was still sleeping.

_That was my first kiss,_ Shinji thought.

Making sure that she was tucked in, Shinji walked to her door. As he was shutting it, he stopped and whispered into the apartment, "Goodnight, Rei."

He closed the door and walked down the steps.

Had he been next to Rei at that moment in time, he would have heard her mumble in her sleep, "Goodnight, Shinji."


	3. Chapter 3: Don't Drown

**Chapter Three**

As Shinji opened the door, he was greeted with a familiar sound that was Asuka raging at him.

"Why are you so late! I've been sitting here, waiting for you to return so you could make me my dinner!" She screamed at him from the kitchen table.

"Why didn't you make your own food?" he said as he walked in and shut the door behind him.

"Me? Make food? Are you _serious_? Servants cook. Cooking is beneath me." She stuck her nose up in the air.

"Yeah, whatever," Shinji said as he opened the refrigerator to pull out something. He sighed. The only thing in there besides Misato's seemingly endless stock of beer was leftover rice. He was going to have to go shopping again. He pulled out the rice and started warming it up.

The phone rang.

"Don't look at me," Asuka said as Shinji turned to her to ask her to answer it. "You made me starve. You answer it."

Shinji walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" he said.

Misato's voice greeted him from the other end. "Hey Shinji?" she said. "It's me. I'm gonna' be out drinking with Kaji. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"Right. Yeah, sure." Shinji said. Before he could say goodbye, he heard the other end hang up.

"Hmm, Misato?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah. She'll be late; so don't wait up for her," he said.

"What! You mean she won't be back until tomorrow morning?" Asuka said, sounding distressed.

"I doubt it, she's going out with Kaji," he said, thinking of how Misato was always yelling at Kaji for one reason or another, telling him to leave her alone.

"Are you dense! That guarantees it." She pouted. Asuka was jealous of Misato since Kaji only seemed to have eyes for her. Asuka wished Kaji would at least pay attention to her like she was a woman instead of a child.

"Sorry," Shinji said.

"Stop apologizing, idiot. You didn't do anything."

"Sorry," Shinji said again. "Here's your food."

"Rice? That's it? Don't you Japanese ever eat anything else? In Germany we have all kinds of food. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Sorry Asuka, that's all there is to eat."

"Ah, whatever," Asuka said as she started picked up her chopsticks and started shoveling the food into her mouth. She really was starving. "You know," she said to Shinji through a mouthful of rice, "you never said why you were so late. What were you doing? Making out with some random girl on the street?"

Shinji was startled and blushed because of how close to the truth Asuka came.

Asuka frowned. "Why are you—? OH MY GOD! You were, weren't you? What the hell? You pervert!" She had stood up and was about to leap over the table at him.

"No! I wasn't, Asuka! Believe me!" It was true after all; Rei wasn't some random girl off the streets.

"Really? So where were you then? She said with her hands on her hips. "And don't you dare lie to me."

"I went to Rei's apartment, but she didn't answer the door. So I came back here." It was true. He just omitted part of what happened.

Asuka seemed to relax a bit. She was relieved. There was no way that Shinji could ever be interested in Wondergirl. "Oh," she said. "Well, don't be late again! I'm fed up with starving!"

Shinji relaxed and they continued eating, with Asuka noisily shoving her food down her throat.

"Wait a minute," Shinji said. "Why are you here? Weren't you going out to dinner too?"

"Oh, my date was even more boring than you," Asuka said, not pausing from her eating. "So, while he was standing in line for the roller coaster, I took a train back here."

Shinji frowned at her. "That seems kinda cold," he said.

Asuka stopped eating and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, Kaji's the only real man in my life, but he's off drinking with Misato right now." She finished eating. "I'm done, Shinji. Take my plate," Asuka said, holding her dish out to him.

"What? But it's your turn to do the dishes, Asuka!" Shinji said after he glanced at the chores chart that Misato had made up.

"It's your punishment for being late, Third Child; incentive not to be late again."

"Oh, fine," Shinji grumbled as he took her plate.

When they finished eating, Shinji went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Then he went to his room to get his SDAT. He got it, came back into the kitchen and sat down against the wall, put the earphones in his ears, and turned it on. Classical music filled his head.

Asuka was still sitting at the kitchen table. She had her arms folded and was resting her head on them, staring at Shinji. She still didn't know whom it was he had been ogling, and that bugged her. It wasn't like she cared, but if there was someone else out there, drawing men's attention, it would mean serious competition for her. All day, while she had been ignoring everything her date said to her, she had been formulating her plan to get Shinji to tell her who it was, or at least get his attention away from the person. Now was the perfect time to put it into action, not to mention that she was bored and wanted to kill time.

"Hey Shinji," she said. "You wanta kiss me?"

Shinji jumped up, startled, and the earphones were yanked out. "Eh! What!" he said, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Kissing, you know. Have you ever done it?"

"Uh-huh," he said hesitantly. He didn't feel the need to say that his first kiss had been today, and besides, Asuka was acting strange, so he'd better be wary.

"So let's do it," she said.

"Uh..." Shinji said. She was really acting strange. She normally called him a pervert. "But why?"

"I've got nothing else to do."

"Wha? That's your reason? You're weird..." he said, turning his face from her and looking at the floor.

"Afraid to kiss a girl on the anniversary of your mom's death? Is she watching you from up in heaven?" Asuka said

Shinji clenched his fist. "That's not it," he said. He just didn't want to kiss Asuka. Besides, he had just kissed Rei earlier, even if she had been asleep, and he didn't think he should kiss Asuka. But Asuka was making him angry with her comments about his mother.

"Or are you scared?"

Shinji was angry with her, and that overrode his sense of guilt he knew he would feel later. He stood up. "I'm not afraid! Pucker up!"

"Right." Asuka stood up and walked over to Shinji. "Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yeah," Shinji nodded.

"Then here I come!" she said. Asuka walked up so that she was only a few inches away from Shinji's face. She leaned in, but before their lips touched, she felt Shinji's breath coming out of his nose. "Stop breathing," she said. "It's tickling me." And she plugged Shinji's nose and kissed him.

Asuka's kiss wasn't like the one he had given Rei, quite different, in fact. She had her face pushed against his and pushed her tongue into his mouth. Shinji tried to pull away because Asuka was being too aggressive, but she only tightened the hold she had on his nose and pulled him close.

Poor Shinji could only hold his breath for so long, and he was also wasting what precious oxygen he had by his futile attempts to get away from the crazy girl that had her lips latched onto him. Shinji turned red, then purple, and then proceeded to a pale shade of blue not unlike that of Rei's hair.

Pen-Pen, Misato's hot spring penguin came in just as Shinji was turning blue. He looked up at the two humans, curious at the strange noises they were both making. Since human's made strange noises anyway, it soon lost Pen-Pen's attention and he climbed into the second refrigerator where he lived. The door to his room slid shut once he was inside.

"Ah!" Shinji leaped back as soon as Asuka released her hold on his nose. He put his hand to his chest and was taking large breaths to accommodate for his current lack of oxygen.

"Ew!" Asuka ran into the bathroom after a few seconds. "Yuck!" Shinji heard her spitting again and again into the sink. He heard the water turn on, and a few seconds later she was gargling. Then he heard her spit it back into the sink.

"Ewah… I should never kiss to kill time!" Asuka wined. "Uh, eh, eck!" She continued her tirade of spitting and rinsing.

Shinji was off into space. He felt guilty now. First he kissed Rei, and now Asuka, the two barely hours apart. _I'm horrible,_ he thought. He heard the door to the apartment slide open, and someone stumble in. _Misato's drunk again._

As he walked to the hallway in the apartment the led to the door, he heard Kaji say something. "Hang on, we're here."

Shinji stuck his head out the doorway and saw the man with unshaved stubble on his chin, his hair pulled back in a pony tail.

"Hey, Kaji," he said.

He was suddenly shoved to the side when Asuka came hurtling out of the room. "What? Hey, hello Kaji," she said gleefully.

Once Shinji helped Kaji bring Misato to her futon in her room, they laid her down there. Misato just lay there and groaned.

"There, I'll be leaving," Kaji said.

"You can spend the night here?" Asuka wined.

Kaji let out a little laugh. "I'd never live it down, if I went to work like this." He gestured to the stain where Misato had lost her stomach on him

"Oh... You could do it," she said as she latched onto Kaji's arm. "Hey come on, Kaji. It'd—"

"Later, Asuka," Kaji said a bit forcefully.

Asuka stopped moving and let go of Kaji's arm, unable to forget what she had just smelled. Misato had bought a new perfume for the wedding she was going to today, she had told Asuka about it after they had calmed down this morning.

"Lavender perfume," she whispered.

Kaji turned back to them when he reached the door. "Take care of Misato, okay?" he said.

"Sure. Goodnight, Kaji," Shinji said.

"Yeah." The door slid open, and Kaji left.

Shinji heard a sniffle behind him, and he turned to Asuka. She was staring off into space with a forlorn expression on her face. Shinji was worried about her. Even though she constantly insulted him, she still was his friend and fellow Eva pilot.

"What's wrong? You look upset," he said.

"That's because you kissed me, you jerk!" She yelled at him and ran into her room and slammed the door. He could hear her start to cry in her room.

Shinji now felt twice as guilty as he had after Asuka kissed him. He seemed to forget that Asuka was the one kissing him while he tried to desperately get away from her. He was starting to get depressed, so he went back to the kitchen and scooped up his SDAT and earphones. He went into his room, put the earphones in, turned the SDAT on, and flopped down on his bed.

The SDAT was his escape from reality whenever he got depressed. The music he would listen to could take the place of his thought processes, so he didn't have to think about things he didn't want to. It would soothe him and relax him. He wanted to escape his thoughts. He had made Asuka unhappy, and he kissed Rei while she was sleeping. He was horrible. He could hear Asuka's quiet whimpering from the room next door. He turned up the volume, drowning out reality.

* * *

The next morning Shinji was awakened by Asuka's usual scream of, "Where's my breakfast!" Hauling himself out of bed, Shinji made his way into the kitchen. Asuka was standing there with her hands on her hips waiting for him to cook her some breakfast. 

"There you are, Third Child," she said as if last night never happened. "I want my breakfast, so get moving!" She pointed to the refrigerator.

Shinji cringed. "I can't Asuka. We're all out of food, remember? That rice was all that was left in the house, and we ate it all."

"Are you saying," Asuka narrowed her eyes at him, "that I am going to have to starve until lunch!"

"Ah…" Shinji slowly backed away from Asuka with his hands up in front of him.

"Don't you try to get out of this, Third Child, I'll—"

"BE QUIET! I'VE GOT A HEADACHE!" Misato cut off Asuka with a roar from her room loud enough that the apartment shook.

"Humph," Asuka said as she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "It's not my fault she got drunk, so why's she yelling at me?" Asuka spun back around to look for Shinji. "Now where were we—where the hell did he go!"

Shinji, seeing an opportunity to escape Asuka's wrath while she was distracted with Misato, had made a mad dash for the door, grabbing his school bag on the way, and was now running down the sidewalk, away from the apartment building.

"SHINJI!" he heard Asuka yell from the apartment behind him, followed by an enraged Misato yelling, "ASUKA, DIE!"

_That must be a really bad hangover she has,_ Shinji thought as he fled Misato's apartment, hearing things being crashing behind him.

On the way to school Shinji stopped by a store and got a pre-made lunch for himself, and then resumed his frantic flight to escape an enraged Asuka that he knew was somewhere behind him.

Shinji finally stopped running as he reached his school. He was doubled over, hands on his knees and breathing hard, when he felt an arm fall around his shoulder and yank him up.

"Stand up straight, Shinji. Be a man," Touji greeted him. "What you running from? The she-devil on your tail?" He grinned, until Shinji nodded yes.

"Damn, Shinji. What did you do, or should I say didn't do, to invoke her fire demon's wrath?" he said.

"Nothing!" Shinji said.

"Somehow, I figured that would be your answer, and I don't doubt you one bit."

Shinji nodded.

"Anyhow, let's get to class before Satan's daughter shows up."

Shinji nodded again, still too winded to give a proper reply.

"Hey guys!" someone said from behind him.

The two stooges turned to greet the third one, Kensuke Aida. He was the shortest of the three, and had short, curly brown hair and glasses. In his right hand he had his trusty camcorder, whish seemed to be permanently fused to him, since was never without it.

"Hi, Kensuke," Shinji and Touji said together.

"What's up?" he said. Then he saw both of their faces pale. "What is it?" he said jest before the two of them grabbed his arms and ran into the school, dragging him behind them.

"GET BACK HERE! I'LL GET YOU ALL!" an angry Asuka said, shaking her fist at them. Her eye was turning black and blue and swelling where Misato's amazing flying laptop had hit her.

"Hey, Asuka. Where did you disappear to yesterday?" said a voice.

Seeing that the three stooges had gotten away, Asuka turned to face the owner of the voice, Hikari Horaki. But before she could answer the girl, Hikari gasped when she saw Asuka's face.

"Asuka! What happened to your eye?" she said, with concern.

"Oh, Misato and I got in a fight today. It's that idiot Shinji's fault," she said.

"Shinji caused this? That doesn't seem like him," Hikari said.

"Yeah it does. He's such a pervert, I wouldn't be surprised if my getting hurt turned him on!"

"Asuka! Keep your voice down," Hikari said, noting the strange looks that the other students were giving her and Asuka. "People are staring."

"Well let them stare, they're all idiots too!"

Noticing that the strange looks were becoming angry looks, Hikari grabbed Asuka's arm and started pulling her towards the door.

"So, Asuka," she said before the redhead could return to her ranting, "where did you vanish to yesterday? My sister told me that you vanished, she said her friend was pretty upset."

"Yeah, well, he was even more boring than Shinji," Asuka said. "So I left."

"That's kind of mean Asuka. He said you just vanished, and that you didn't say goodbye or anything."

"Who cares anyway?" Asuka said, still fuming over how Shinji had escaped her.

"I'm pretty sure your date did," Hikari said.

They entered the classroom Asuka immediately looked to Shinji's usual desk. He was unsuccessfully trying to hide beneath it while pretending to be looking for his pencil. Seeing as there was nothing she could do with the teacher so near, Asuka went to her desk and sat down next to Hikari, planning on how she would get back at Shinji, which mostly involved him writhing on the floor with pain as she stood above him with a vary large stick.

Seeing that Asuka had taken her seat, Shinji slowly got up from his spot beneath his desk. He looked over to Rei's desk, but she wasn't there. Shinji sighed. He had been hoping to see her today.

The teacher cleared his throat and held a clipboard before him. "Let me call the roll. Ladies first. Ayanami. Rei Ayanami. Is she absent again?"

Shinji sighed once more. Then again, he might not be able to keep himself from blushing when he saw her. At least she didn't know he kissed her when she was asleep.

* * *

School had already been going on for an hour before Rei finally awoke from her almost dreamless sleep. She lay there for a few minutes, eyes open and staring at the ceiling, as she remembered the strange dream that she had. 

She had been sleeping in her dream, and Shinji had come into her apartment. Her blanket had been starting to fall off, and he had pulled it back up for her. She remembered that she had thanked him for it, which was strange, since she had never thanked anyone before. Well, it was only a dream after all.

Rei put her fingers to her lips as she remembered what had happened next. Shinji had kissed her. While Rei had seen fellow students kissing around school, she had never been kissed before, or preformed any other kind of intimate act. Why she had dreamed of such a thing confused her. _Perhaps I want to be intimate with Shinji,_ she thought, pondering the source of her "dream."

She looked at the clock and noted that she was late for school. She frowned when she realized that she had overslept, something she had never done before. She didn't have an alarm clock because she had had no need for one, seeing as she would always wake up at six in the morning everyday. However, when she thought about it, she remembered that she had also awoken later than normal the previous day. She didn't know what it meant.

She had missed the beginning of school, so she saw no need to go. She was absent many times anyway because the commander wanted to run tests on the dummy plug system. She had never missed a day of school before because she had chosen not to go. And yet, though she saw no practical reason for her to attend school, when the thought that Shinji would be there occurred to her, she got out of bed and started dressing.

The thought of being intimate with Shinji brought that tug at her heart she had felt when she was thinking of Shinji the day before. She wondered if that meant she wanted to be intimate with him. She did not truly understand why Shinji made her feel the way she did, or why she felt that tug at her chest when she thought of him. She would need to ask someone about, only who could she ask? Not the commander of course. So whom could she ask?

Before she came up with an answer to that question, she noted that school had been going on for nearly two hours. Grabbing her briefcase, in which she put a small Tupper wear container that held her lunch, she opened the door and left her apartment with a piece of bread in her mouth. She was not accustomed to being so hurried, since she had never been late before.

She didn't run to school, since that would be deviating to far from how she normally acted. Instead she walked at a leisurely pace, nibbling at her slice of bread as she walked, wondering about Shinji and how he affected her.

When Rei walked into the classroom everyone became silent, except of course for the teacher who was rambling on about his life before Second Impact. Every eye was fixed upon Rei as she strode across the room and to her desk. Everyone knew that Ayanami was _never_ late to school. Ayanami either came to school, or missed it; there was no in between. However, when she sat down at her usual desk and stared out the window, they all lost most of their interest in her and either turned their attention back to the teacher, or went back to sleep.

There was one person who didn't let his attention slide from Rei. Shinji was staring forward, looking as if he was listening to his teachers rant on his old life, and every few minutes would turn around and look at Rei. She was always staring out the window when he saw her. He wondered why she was late, as was most of the conscious portion of his class. Shinji, however, had a more personal reason for wondering why she was late. He set himself to ask her during lunch.

When the bell finally rang and the teacher ended his entire too long monologue, Shinji stood up. Getting his lunch, he was about to go over to Rei when Kensuke and Touji flagged him down. Giving one more sidelong glance towards Rei, who was removing a small Tupperware container from her briefcase, Shinji headed over to his friends.

"Hey Shinji, what's going on between you and Ayanami?" Kensuke asked when he reached them.

Shinji was startled. He didn't feel like confiding to his friends that he had kissed Rei while she was sleeping. "W-what are you talking about?" he said, nervously.

"Oh come on, Shinji," Touji said, draping an arm around Shinji's shoulders. "You think we didn't notice you and Ayanami taking glances at each other every few minutes?"

"I wasn't—wait, Ayanami was what?" he said once he realized what Touji had said.

"Yup." Touji was grinning like a madman. "Whenever you weren't looking at her, she was looking at you. As soon as you started to turn your head, she looked back towards the window."

Shinji was too shocked to say anything. _She couldn't have been awake. She couldn't have!_ Then Shinji calmed down when a logical answer occurred to him.

"That must be it," he said.

"What must be it?" asked Kensuke.

"Hey, what are you hiding from us?" said Touji.

"It's nothing," Shinji said. "I just said something to her the other day concerning my… concerning the commander." His voice hardened and his face darkened. He didn't want to think of the man that used Rei as his father.

"Oh," Kensuke and Touji said together.

"Oh well, I guess this tape is useless then, huh Touji?" Kensuke said as he pulled a tape from inside his camcorder.

"Well, you know we could always make something up, and then give it to Satan's daughter," Touji suggested.

"Hey!" Shinji said, becoming alarmed and frantically looking around for Asuka. Luckily for him, she had gone up to the roof to eat with Hikari.

Touji laughed at Shinji. "Don't worry, we wouldn't be that cruel to you."

"Yeah, whatever," Shinji grumbled, his mood darkening.

Kensuke's glasses were slipping down his nose, so he put a finger to the bridge of his glasses and pushed them back up. "Hey, lighten up Shinji. Here, I'll even give you the tape." He held out the small cassette to Shinji.

Shinji looked at him skeptically, took the tape, and pocketed it.

"Hey Shinji," Touji said. "She's looking at you again."

Shinji whipped around to where Rei sat, only to find her staring out the window. Touji started laughing.

When Shinji turned back to his friends he said, "I wonder why she was late."

Touji stopped laughing. "Yeah, it is kinda strange, isn't it? I mean, she's never late."

Kensuke nodded. "Yeah, it is strange. I wish I had gotten her coming in on tape though, just so I could make sure we didn't imagine it." He sighed and looked at his camcorder.

"You should go ask her, Shinji," Touji said.

"What? Why me?" Shinji said, even though he had been going to do the same thing anyway.

"Because you are the only one she answers," Touji said. "Anytime anyone else asks her a question, she just brushes them off and ignores them. That and it's starting to creep me out every time she looks this way at you."

Shinji spun around again, hoping to catch Rei looking at him, but she was still just staring out her window, occasionally eating a piece of lettuce from the small salad she had brought with her.

"Ok," he said, and he walked over to Rei.

"Come on," Touji whispered to Kensuke as Shinji left them. "Let's go an make sure the devil's daughter doesn't come down and interrupt this."

Kensuke grinned, and they both headed for the roof.

"Hello, Ayanami," Shinji said when he reached her.

Rei looked up at him and nodded to him, acknowledging his presence. "Ikari," she said.

"Um…" Shinji wasn't sure what to say. "Do you mind if I eat lunch with you?" he said at last.

Rei blinked, and then said, "You may eat wherever you like, Ikari."

Shinji had known Rei long enough to know that that blink she had given meant that she was surprised, but he didn't mention it. Sitting down in the desk next to Rei, he placed his lunch that he had bought on the way to school on the desk. Noticing that he had bought a lunch of rice and chicken, he started eating the rice.

While Shinji was staring at his food, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye, but when his eyes turned to Rei, she was eating her salad. He looked back at his food. The motion came again, and he kept his head still as he suddenly moved his eyes to Rei, where the motion had been occurring. Again, she was looking at her food. Trying to find out what the motion was, and if it was indeed Rei looking at him, he found that he could look at something in front of him, while paying all attention to something off to the side. Soon he was able to decipher the blurs that he usually saw off in his peripheral vision. Watching Rei while looking at his food, he found that the motions he had been sensing were actually her crimson eyes sliding over to him as she stared at her food. Shinji smiled.

Then he remembered part of the reason he had come over to Rei. "Uh, Ayanami?" he said. "Why were you late to school today? You've never been late before."

"I did not awake on time, Ikari," she said as she placed another leaf of lettuce into her mouth.

"Oh, so you slept in," he said.

"I slept in my bed," she said without the slightest hint of humor.

"No, I meant you—never mind," Shinji said, amazed at how literal Rei took things. "Anyway, it's good that you weren't sick or anything."

"I do not get ill, Ikari.

Shinji's eyebrows rose. "You've never gotten sick? Ever?"

"I only become ill when I eat meat."

"So that's why you don't like meat."

Rei nodded. "I dislike being ill, and so I dislike meat."

"That makes sense."

"Why did you ask me why I was late, Shinji?"

"I was worried about you." He shrugged. "I thought you might have been sick."

"I see," Rei said. She was staring intently at what remained of her salad. "You have not eaten your chicken, Ikari."

Shinji looked down at his food. Indeed, he had eaten all of the rice and was absent-mindedly strewing his chopsticks around the chicken. He wasn't really hungry, so he didn't see the need to continue eating it. "I'm full," he said.

Rei just nodded and accepted his answer.

Shinji knew that he could avoid the real question he wanted to ask.

"Um, Ayanami, when I was at your apartment the otherday…" he started to say, referring to when he had told her why he hated his father.

"Do not concern yourself with it," Rei said. "I see now that my respect had been misplaced. I have rectified the problem."

Shinji was happy. He had been worrying that she might have been upset with him, even though she didn't show it. He was glad that she now saw his father for what he was. Then he frowned. If that was so, why then had she been in the aircraft that had come to pick up Gendo from the cemetery yesterday?

"Ayanami," he said. "Why were you in that aircraft that came to pick up my father yesterday?"

Rei dropped her chopsticks, but covered for the slip in her emotionless mask by pretending she was finished with her food and starting to pack it away. "I wanted to confirm what I had now believe about the commander, and I had to make a request."

Shinji nodded, but didn't ask what the request was, believing that Rei might think he was prying to deeply.

The bell rang then, and Shinji and Rei both inwardly sighed. They had both enjoyed each other's company and were sorry to have to return to their class.

When Asuka came into the room she took no notice of Shinji and Rei sitting together. She was too angry to notice. Hands unconsciously twitching, she felt like ringing Touji and Kensuke's necks. She had been sharing a lunch with Hikari because the idiot Shinji didn't make her one that morning, when from out of now where Touji and Kensuke come and start taunting her about her now swollen eye. It was enough that she even had the black eye, but for Touji and Kensuke to come and start blabbing about it, bringing most of the schools attention to her was unbearable. If not for Hikari physically holding her back, she might have caused serious harm to the two boys. By the time Asuka took notice of Shinji, he was already sitting down back at his desk, having thrown away the food that he hadn't eaten.

Shinji had no idea how lucky he was that she hadn't noticed him, since Hikari wasn't there to hold Asuka back if she lost it.

Then the teacher walked in and started his daily lecture on the Second Impact.

* * *

The swelling in Asuka's eye had gone down by the end of school, and was hardly even visible, but Shinji didn't notice. He was too busy fleeing for his life. For the entire school day, Asuka had been fuming, and finally decided that all her troubles had been caused by Shinji. Needles to say, she felt the need to teach him a lesson. As soon as school was out, she had jumped him. Luckily, Touji had been nearby, so he had pulled Asuka off Shinji and told him to run when it became obvious that trying to hold Asuka back would be like trying to hold back a raging demon. 

"You get back here Third Child!" he heard her yelling behind him.

When he reached the sidewalk, he took a different route than normal home. For the most part it was so he could avoid Asuka, but he also had to pick up food at the store. He had gotten money that morning. He wasn't going to pick up much, just enough for dinner.

"Ikari," Rei said.

In his current state of distress, Shinji was startled by Rei's sudden appearance by his side. "Oh, Ayanami," he said. "I'm glad it's you and not Asuka."

"As am I," she said.

This surprised Shinji, but he said nothing of it. "So, Ayanami, why are you here?"

"My food supply requires replenishing," she said.

"Oh, mine too," Shinji said, used to Rei's odd way of phrasing things.

They walked together until they reached a small grocery store. Going in, Shinji grabbed a shopping basket. Rei was about to grab one as well, but Shinji forestalled her. "I'll carry yours," he said.

Rei nodded and followed Shinji. "I merely require a loaf of bread and a bag of lettuce," she said, telling him what she needed.

Shinji stopped and turned to her. "That's all you eat, Ayanami?"

"It is sufficient for my meals at my apartment."

"Maybe it's sufficient, but don't you get tired of eating the same thing all the time?"

"No."

Shinji sighed. "You should eat more, Ayanami," he said. "I really don't think that eating only lettuce and bread is healthy. I had to take care of myself before I came here, when I lived with my teachers. They were usually off somewhere, so I had to learn to cook. Maybe you can come over for dinner at Misato's once in a while. I'm sure I can make something you'd like."

Rei looked at the floor. After a while, she looked back up at Shinji and said, "That would be… appreciated." The fact that Shinji cared so much for her well-being had warmed her and she felt that tug again.

Shinji smiled at her. "Let's go get our food then."

After getting what Rei required, they walked up and down the aisles as Shinji pondered what to make for dinner. Shinji was enjoying Rei's company so much that he was deliberately being indecisive about what he should make. Finally, however, he knew that he had to make up his mind. He decided on soup.

As they left the store, they bumped into Dr. Akagi.

"Oh. Hello Rei, Shinji," she said.

"Hi Ritsuko," Shinji said.

"Hello Dr. Akagi," Rei replied, formal as ever.

"What are you two doing?" Ritsuko asked. She was wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans. It seemed a bit odd to Shinji, who had only seen her dressed like this when she went out with Misato or came over for dinner. The majority of the time he saw her was at NERV, when she was wearing her lab coat.

"We were shopping. I needed to get food for dinner tonight," Shinji said, "and Ayanami needed to get more food too."

"Hmm…" Ritsuko said, tapping her foot. She reached into the bag she had by her side. "Here, Shinji, take this. I've been meaning to have Misato try it. With your cooking skills, I'm sure you can make use of it." She handed him a packet.

"What is it?" Shinji asked as he took the packet from her and looked at it.

"It's dried fish stock," she said. "Anyway, I've got to get going. You two have a harmonics test this afternoon. Don't forget, alright?" she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

"We wont," Shinji said before he turned to Rei. "I've got to get back to Misato's. If I don't get there and let her know where I've been, she'll kill me."

"I do not believe that Major Katsuragi would harm you, Ikari."

"It was a figure of speech, Ayanami."

Rei nodded. "Goodbye, Ikari." She walked away towards her apartment with her bag.

Shinji desperately wanted to walk her home. Misato might not kill him; however, he was pretty sure she would do something substantial if he wasn't home soon. Shinji sighed. Maybe he could walk Rei home after the harmonics test this evening. He turned and started heading back to Misato's apartment.

* * *

When Rei reached her apartment, she noticed that her new lock had been installed. After entering her apartment and testing out the lock, she removed the loaf of bread and bag of lettuce from the bag she had brought home with her. Opening her refrigerator, she placed them inside—next two five other bags and three other loafs. 

"Why do you affect me so, Shinji?" Rei said as she looked at her over abundant food supply.

* * *

After spending his whole afternoon shopping with Rei, Shinji was in a rather good mood when he returned home. When he found that by some miracle Asuka was no longer mad at him when he returned home, he was almost overjoyed that he wouldn't be experiencing too much pain this day. He was certainly lucky that Hikari had managed to calm Asuka down after Shinji had fled school earlier. 

Shinji had just finished making dinner, and he served Misato some of the soup. He could hear Asuka in the shower humming to herself. It seemed that the rest of the day might go well for him after all.

"Mmm... Shinji, did you change this soups flavor somehow?" asked Misato as she tried the soup.

Shinji smiled. "Yeah, I used dried fish stock. Ritsuko gave it to me."

Before Misato could further comment on Shinji's soup, a loud scream issued from the shower and the curtain to it was flung back and Asuka, clad only in a red towel, came out screaming. "It's too hot!" she said.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said.

Asuka screamed in frustration. Hikari's talk with her hadn't completely doused her rage, and she had the faintly dark reminder around her eye that constantly told her why she was cross with Misato. "You're always apologizing. Do you really think it's your fault?"

"Well, er..."

"Apologies are your condition reflex to any kind of confrontation, aren't they Shinji. Don't you have any spine at all?" She found herself getting angry that he couldn't stand up for himself. If only he wasn't such a wimp then maybe…

"I'm sorry, er..."

"There you go again. Why do you always have to punish yourself for everything?"

Misato was watching them from over the rim of her can of bear when she spoke. "There, there. That's just Shinji's way, you know."

"It's so easy for you to just accept his pathetic habits, isn't it? But don't you think you've been too easy on him lately?" Asuka yelled at Misato, angry at her for taking Shinji's side.

The phone started ringing.

"Have I?" Misato said as she ignored the phone.

"Maybe you and Kaji have hooked up again, but the fact that you're happy doesn't mean that you can just ignore the welfare of the rest of us."

Misato slammed her beer down on the table as she said, "Look there's nothing going on between me and Kaji."

Since no one had picked up the phone, the machine ansered it. "Hey, Katsuragi," Kaji's voice came through the speaker. "I've found a bar that serves a decent drink. How 'bout tonight? Bye!"

Misato stared at the answering machine like it was her worst enemy.

That was the last straw for Asuka. "I've never been around anyone, who's been involved in such a totally indecent relationship. And your supposed to be our guardian. What a hypocrite! It's disgusting!"

She ran back into the shower and yanked the curtain shut.

Shinji's good mood faltered a bit. Somehow he felt that the evening might not turn out as good as he had thought.

* * *

"B-type harmonics test, all systems green," Maya Ibuki said as she watched over the screen showing the three pilots test scores. 

"Projected adjustment values have been cleared," one of the technicians said.

"You're looking pretty worn to the bone, Major Katsuragi," Hyuga said to Misato.

Misato smiled. "There are reasons why I'm worn," she giggled, "private ones."

"Kaji's bone?" Ritsuko said without looking up from her clipboard.

"Shut your face!" Misato yelled at her friend. After calming herself down, she said, "Anyway, how's the Third Child doing?"

Maya smiled. "Just take a look," she said, moving to the side so that Misato could see the scores on the screen.

Misato's eyes widened with surprise. "Oh," she said. "Wow. I bet knowing this will boost his confidence a little."

All this time Shinji had been in his entry plug. Suddenly, he heard Misato's voice come over the communications system. "Can you hear me, Shinji?" she said.

Shinji slowly opened his eyes when he heard her. "Ah, Hi Misato! So how are my test scores looking?" Shinji asked, eager to see how he did.

Misato laughed and smiled at him while giving him a victory sign over the monitor. "Great! Your number one!"

Shinji's eyes widened. "I'm number one?" he repeated.

"Yup," Misato said. "You've got the highest sync ratio out of all the pilots!"

"Really?" Shinji said, smiling at his success.

"Yeah." Misato smiled again.

"What!" came an enraged voice. Shinji looked to his left and saw a red-faced Asuka glaring at him from the view screen that hovered there. "You mean he beat me? This idiot!" Asuka let out an enraged scream and then her video link cut.

"Uh-oh," Misato said.

"Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to inform Shinji of his success via the comm link that _transmits to each entry plug,_" Ritsuko said to her friend.

"Ah, shut up," Misato said. Neither she nor Shinji had been on good terms with Asuka today, and she had probably made things worse.

Shinji had been listening to their conversation, but his attention was diverted when a soft voice drifted to his ears.

"Congratulations, Ikari," Rei said to him from her entry plug.

Shinji looked over to the view port that showed Rei in her entry plug. He smiled at her. "Thanks Ayanami," he said.

"All right, the test is over, time to get out of your entry plugs," Misato said to the two of them before Rei could say anything.

From the moment he exited his entry plug, Shinji was congratulated by almost everybody for attaining the rank of Number One Syncro Ratio Holder. Almost everybody. There was one person who didn't congratulate him, and she was currently taking out her anger by ranting to the First Child while in the locker room. She had already changed from her plug suit into her school clothes.

"Oh, it's not just that I lost! It's that he beat us so easily! He beat us so easily that it's really pissing me off! Oh, he's so great. He's so wonderful. He's so awesome! Shinji he's our hero and he used to be a zero!" She took a breath after exhausting her self and singing that little ditty. "Ok, so that just makes our job a little easier, right? Oh, but it also means that the two of us will have to be doing double time just so that we're not left behind."

Annoyed with the Second Childs irrational anger, Rei grabbed her brief case after she had finished changing. She walked to her door. Since the Second Child failed to notice that Rei was leaving and was continuing her rant, just before the door slid closed behind Rei, she said, "I'm leaving."

Angry at everything, Asuka slammed her fist into her locker. How dare that idiot show her up like this? He must have cheated; there was no way that a pervert like him could beat her. She was the best pilot. She was the most skilled. How dare he humiliate her like this?

The Second Child was like an amplifier for rage. Once a little bit was fed into her, it soon grew at an expediential rate. She would start thinking about all the supposed injustices that had been inflicted on her, even if they weren't injustices at all. She needed a way to vent her rage or she would go insane.

Suddenly she grinned, and it wasn't a nice grin. Shinji was the one who somehow cheated her out of being Number One, so he was obviously the one who she should vent her pent up anger on. Grabbing her briefcase, she left the locker room and ran down to the elevator so that she could catch Shinji before he vanished. Sure enough, he was standing there at the elevator.

"Uh, hi, Asuka," he said nervously.

"Hello Shinji," she said in a voice that dripped with far too much honey for Shinji's comfort.

"Uh, um… is Ayanami with you?" he asked. He had been waiting to see if Rei was still there.

"What? Wondergirl? No, she already left."

"Oh," Shinji said, feeling a bit depressed.

"Hey Shinji," Asuka said.

"Yeah?"

"Could you come down to the Eva cages with me for a minute?"

"Uh, sure Asuka…" he was trying to be wary. That voice of hers made him very uncomfortable. It was giving him a sense of foreboding.

Asuka just grinned and pulled him inside as the doors opened. She pushed the button that took them to the Eva cages and soon they were hurtling downwards. When the arrived Shinji stepped out onto the catwalk that was in front of his Eva, which was submerged in a reddish liquid almost up to it's shoulders, just below the catwalk.

"Why did you want to come here, Asuka?" Shinji said as he turned to the girl. He stepped back when he saw her face.

Asuka was grinning, and the grin scarred him. "Oh, nothing Third Child," she said, the honey gone from her voice and replaced with steel; jagged steel. "I'm just going to congratulate you for become Number One. She slowly advanced towards Shinji, slamming her fist into her hand.

Shinji backed away slowly. He had a very bad feeling about this…

* * *

Rei was staring at her Eva when she heard it: the First and Second Children's voices. While Asuka seemed to be joyful, Shinji seemed utterly distressed, and that was enough to have Rei stand up and start walking towards Unit One's cage. 

"You think you can cheat me out of my title and get away with it, Third Child?" she heard Asuka saying.

"I didn't do anything Asuka! They probably just made a mistake!"

"What do you take me for? I am the best. I am Number One! There is no way you could have beaten me! Now you're going to pay."

The conversation that Rei was hearing started to distress her, and she quickened her pace.

"Ow!" she heard Shinji yell. She started running.

"Asuka! Put me down!" Shinji yelled.

Asuka's maddening laughter echoed throughout the Eva cages. Rei burst into Unit One's cage and saw Asuka holding Shinji up in the air by the collar.

"Goodbye, Third Child," Asuka said, and she hurled him off the side of the catwalk and into the fathoms deep liquid.

As soon as Shinji felt Asuka let him go he knew he was going to die. Shinji couldn't swim. As soon as he hit the liquid he started thrashing around, trying to stay above the surface of the liquid.

"Asuka! Help me!" he yelled.

"Get yourself out," she said. "After all, you are Number One." She laughed again.

Shinji was starting to sink. He coughed up some of the liquid. "I can't swim!"

Asuka's laughing cut off abruptly. She hadn't really meant to endanger Shinji's life. She was angry with him, but she didn't want him dead. She looked to where Shinji had been before she had thrown her head back while laughing. He wasn't there.

Suddenly she felt something fly past her and then saw a small splash in the water as Rei dove head first into the small sea of red liquid.

For the first time in Rei Ayanami's life, she was panicking. As soon as she heard Shinji say he couldn't swim, she had doubled the speed at which she was running and dived past the Second Child and into the aqueous substance that covered the majority of Evangelion Unit One.

_Shinji!_ she mentally screamed as she frantically looked around for him. The liquid stung her eyes when she opened them beneath the surface. She swung her head from side to side, looking for him, but it was too dark, and she could see him.

It felt like she had been looking for hours, though she knew that she had only been beneath the surface for a few seconds. If she didn't find him soon, Shinji would drown. She felt that tug at her heart, and she redoubled her efforts.

When after a few minutes her search yielded nothing, Rei started to slip into despair. She was going to lose Shinji. _I promised to protect him,_ she thought. _I don't want to lose you Shinji!_

Suddenly flashing alarm lights lighted up the liquid. Rei would have paused to wonder what had caused the alarm to go off if it were not for the vague shadow she saw floating in the liquid just meters away from her. As she swam towards the shadow, it slowly revealed itself as Shinji. His eyes were closed and it looked like he had passed out. She darted for him and pulled him towards the surface and the catwalk.

As soon as she was on the catwalk, she grabbed Shinji and pulled him after her. Once he was completely out of the liquid, Rei dropped down beside him and put her ear to his mouth. He wasn't breathing. Pulling her self back up, her hands sought out the place just above his navel and below his ribs where she would need to push. Upon finding the place she sought, she pushed down and forward with both hands, administering the Heimlich.

When he still didn't breath, she leaned over he head once again, her school uniform dripping over the catwalk, and grabbed his nose between her fingers. Making sure his nose was plugged, she tilted his head back, and lowered her mouth to his, sealing their lips so no air could escape. She breathed into his mouth. There was no effect.

She repeated the process of the Heimlich and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation several times to no effect.

_Shinji_, she mentally wept as the Heimlich once again had no effect. She grabbed his nose and lowered her face to his again. _Don't die…_

Suddenly Shinji's body convulsed and Rei pulled her mouth away from his as he suddenly spewed up some of the liquid he had breathed in. Overwhelmed with relief, she put her arm around his back to support him as he coughed up more and more liquid. When he finally stopped his and started breathing steady, though ragged, breaths, did his eyes open.

The first thing he saw was Rei's worried face leaning over him. He smiled at her, and then fell back into unconsciousness.

Relieved that Shinji was alright, Rei's mind could finally turn from the pilot in her arms and turn to glare at the Second Child. Rei was angry, angrier than she had ever been before. Though she had been angry with the commander once Shinji had helped her to see the way his father used her, the commander had never almost taken Shinji's life.

When Asuka saw the First Child's eyes turn to her, she stepped back. She saw rage and hate in those eyes that had once reminded her so much of a doll. Helped along by the fact that Rei's eyes had no pigment, and thus were red, Rei now scared the wits out of the Second Child. Asuka was sure that she was imagining it, but it seemed to her that Rei's eyes were also faintly glowing.

"Is… is he alright?" Asuka quietly asked.

"Yes," Rei said in a flat, emotionless voice. That somehow made it all worse for Asuka.

However, now that Shinji was safe, Asuka could return to being angry. "Well," she said, trying to repair her damaged pride. "It serves him right, after he showed me up like he did." Then she turned around and walked to the elevator.

Rei had the urge to run after the Second Child and hurl her into the liquid that filled the Eva cage, possibly with several lead bricks tied to her feet. However, the thought was driven from her mind when Shinji started to cough horribly. She frowned, worried. Putting her arms under Shinji's, she dragged him towards the elevator.

As soon as she was inside and the door had shut, she pushed the button that led to the level on which the medical facilities rested. Then she grabbed the emergency phone and said, "Put Dr. Akagi on the line." A few moments later she heard the doctor pick up the phone on the other end.

"Hello? Who is this? There had better be a good reason for this call, we're in the middle of an—"

"Dr. Akagi, this is Pilot Ayanami," Rei cut Ritsuko off.

"Rei? What are you doing? An angel has been detected! Why aren't you getting to your Eva?"

Suddenly the klaxon and lights that had been flashing stopped.

"What the hell?" Rei heard the doctor yell on the opposite line.

"Dr. Akagi, I am presently in the elevator that leads to the Eva cages. I will shortly be arriving at the medical facilities. Have a medical team waiting there."

"What? Why?" Ritsuko said, a bit annoyed by the fact that the alarm had suddenly been canceled by the commander, and now Rei was ordering _her_ around.

"Pilot Ikari is in need of medical treatment," she said.

Ritsuko's voice rose in alarm. "What happened?" she asked.

"Pilot Ikari almost drowned," she said, frowning and looking back at Shinji as another round of hacking coughs came from his unconscious body.

Ritsuko could hear the coughs from her end, and forestalled the rest of her questions. "There will be a team waiting when you arrive," she said, and then hung up and started shouting orders to different people to assemble a medical team.

Rei hung up the phone and walked over to Shinji. She could hear him wheezing and it troubled her. She had just brought him back from near death and she didn't want him to suddenly slip away from her. She held onto his hand as she sat next to him, worrying the entire way up to the medical facilities.

* * *

The first thing Dr. Ritsuko Akagi noticed when the doors opened was that Rei was kneeling by Shinji and holding his hand, but this was soon dismissed from her mind when Shinji suddenly broke into a violent, hacking cough. She rushed into the elevator and leaned down by him. 

After a minute, she said, "This isn't good. He's still got a lot of liquid in his lungs," she turned to Rei, who still hadn't let go of Shinji's hand. "What happened?" she asked, "and where the hell was he able to almost drown like this?"

"Pilot Soryu was angry with Ikari," Rei said, not turning from Shinji's face. "She threw him into the liquid that fills up the Eva cage. Ikari cannot swim, and I dove in after and pulled him out. He was not breathing, and I gave him the Heimlich and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until he resumed breathing."

Ritsuko's eyes widened when she heard what it was that Shinji had almost drowned in. "Damn," she said. "This is worse than I thought." She turned to the team behind her. "Bring him to the emergency room, now!" she yelled. The team rushed in, pick Shinji up, put him on a bed, and soon they were all running down the hall as fast as they could.

Rei was running along behind Ritsuko. She was extremely worried at Dr. Akagi's reaction when she told her what it was that Shinji had almost drowned in. "Dr. Akagi, what is wrong with Ikari?" she asked the doctor.

"This is very bad, Rei," Ritsuko said as she walked beside Shinji's bead, writing on her clipboard. "The liquid in the Eva chambers is a special chemical designed especially for the Evas. It is basically a strong disinfectant used to keep the Eva's clean. The problem is that it has a corrosive property on certain tissues. Lung tissue is one of them. If we don't help Shinji soon, his lungs will be eaten away by the chemical."

Rei paled, which was to say that she turned completely white since she was already so pale. She had thought that Shinji was safe when he had started breathing, but it seemed that the Second Child's actions might yet have fatal consequences for Shinji. Rei's fist clenched. If Shinji died…

"Dammit!" Ritsuko yelled as the klaxon and lights suddenly returned. "What the hell is going on around here! Rei, you had better get to your Eva since we need to get Shinji medical treatment right away. You and Asuka are the only ones who can fight off an Angel."

Rei didn't want to leave Shinji, but she knew that if an Angel attacked and there were no Eva's to stop it, none of them would survive. She turned around and headed back towards the elevator.

* * *

Ritsuko was just about to start treating Shinji when the alarm once again ceased. She swore again. She didn't like it when she didn't know what was going on. She shook her head as she lowered a syringe to Shinji's arm and squeezed in a serum. 

Shinji's eyes popped open moments later.

Before he could say anything, Ritsuko reached out and covered his mouth. "Don't talk, Shinji," she said. "Your lungs have a chemical in them which will eventually eat away at your lungs. Take slow breaths. I've given you something that should numb the pain, but that doesn't mean that the damage isn't there. We don't have much time. We're going to try and submerge you in a tank of LCL. You will need to breath it in and out. This should wash your lungs clean of any of the Evas' disinfectant that you inhaled. Do you understand?"

Shinji nodded since he was too afraid of what trying to speak might do to his lungs. He was holding his breath at the moment.

Ritsuko nodded and then turned to one of the medical staff. "Charge the LCL," she said.

The man nodded, and pushed a few hands on a keyboard in front of him.

"Okay, Shinji," Ritsuko said as she turned back to him. "Are you ready?"

Shinji nodded.

"Alright. Put him in the tank."

Several men and women came up to Shinji and gently picked him up, moving him over to the large, cylindrical tank. They walked up a ramp that went behind the tank until they reached the top. Once up there, they slowly lowered Shinji down into the open topped tank.

As soon as Shinji felt the LCL close over his head, he started breathing slow steady breaths of the yellowish liquid. It left a copper taste in his mouth as always. Like blood.

Ritsuko looked at Shinji as she heard the reports from the medical staff around her.

"Disinfectant levels in the LCL are increasing. Activating filtering system."

"Patient's breath rate is returning to normal."

"Ratio of disinfectant to LCL in the lungs is decreasing."

Ritsuko sighed with relief. She hadn't been completely sure that this would work. She had only had a few minutes to formulate the treatment. But it was working, so there was no need to worry.

"Contact the Commander," she said, "and inform him of the Third Child's status." She looked at Shinji, who now had his eyes closed, inside the tank. The way he was floating there reminded her of the many time she had seen Rei in a similar cylinder many levels down where they were developing the dummy plug system.

Her thoughts turned back to what she saw in the elevator. Rei was holding Shinji's hand. Even the commander had to ask her to hold his hand before she would, and if anyone else asked she would simply ignore them.

_Is it possible that Rei has feelings for Shinji?_ Ritsuko thought. Then she shook her head. No, it wasn't possible. She and the commander had made sure that Rei would never get involved with anyone, especially Shinji. It would be… unfortunate if a relationship were to develop between the First and Third Child.

Ritsuko tapped her chin._ They were at the supermarket together earlier as well. I will have to ask Rei about this. I just hope that I will not have to take steps to prevent a relationship between these two._

She looked back at Shinji. He would need to recover from the damage that had already been inflicted on his lungs. He would be out of action for several days. She just hoped that there wouldn't be an angel attack before then. The alarm going on and off today was screwing with her mind, and on top of that she had Shinji in a serious medical condition. Asuka was going to be in big trouble.

Suddenly she heard shouting from outside the door. "What do you mean I can't come in!" she heard Misato yelling followed by the sound of someone being shoved to the floor. "I'm his commanding officer, so move!"

When Misato entered the room, her eyes were immediately drawn to Shinji floating in the large tube of LCL. "Shini!" she yelled before running up to the tube.

Shinji's eyes slowly opened and he smiled at Misato. Then he closed his eyes again and kept concentrating on breathing large, slow breaths.

Misato turned to Ritsuko. "What happened?" she asked her friend.

Ritsuko walked over to her desk and sat down in her chair. She placed her clipboard on the desk and leaned back, putting her arms behind her head. "It seems that the Second Child decided to take her anger out on him," she said.

"Asuka?" Misato's eyes widened and then narrowed. "What did she do?"

"She threw him into the disinfectant in the Eva's cages."

"That's it?" Misato said.

"As it turns out, Shinji can't swim."

"Oh. So that's why he never goes swimming… but wait, you mean he—?"

"Yes, he inhaled the disinfectant, and from what I'm told, it was in his lungs for several minutes."

Misato looked back at Shinji. "Oh, God. Is he going to be alright?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes, but he'll be out of action for a few days. The tissues in his lungs need time to repair themselves."

Misato sighed with relief. She cocked her head. "Wait a minute," she said, "if Shinji can't swim, then how did he get out of the disinfectant?"

"Rei happened to witness Asuka throwing Shinji in, and she rescued him from the disinfectant, though by the time she pulled him out, the disinfectant had already completely filled his lungs. He only barely survived."

"God, if Rei hadn't been there… you mean Asuka did nothing?"

"I've told you all I know. I sent Rei down to her Eva because of the alarm, you can ask her exactly what happened. What the hell is going on anyway?"

"The MAGI detected an angel, but the signal vanished before they could get a lock on it. The commander had the alarm cancelled when no angel was found. The same thing happened when the alarm went off again several minutes later."

"Damn," Ritsuko said, "with Shinji out of action, another angel is just what we need."

"Yeah," Misato said as she leaned against the wall and folded her arms. She looked back a Shinji, who was floating in the tube wearing his school uniform, looking a lot like he did when he got into his entry plug for the first time. "You sure he's going to be okay?

"Yes, Misato. Right now, I'm more worried about the Second Child."

Misato's eyes narrowed. "Leave her to me," she said.

Ritsuko nodded. She knew that Misato was going to give Asuka more punishment than she ever could. She had been Shijni's guardian ever since he had come here and was given a place to stay by himself. She had insisted that Shinji come and live with her. Since then, Shinji had become like a younger brother to here. Though they all lived in the same apartment, she hadn't lived with Asuka nearly as long as she had with Shinji. Ritsuko almost pitied the girl. Almost.

* * *

"Asuka! What the hell were you thinking!" Misato screamed at the girl when she finally found her. She had searched the entire NERV complex to no avail, and had gone home. She found Asuka sitting on the couch and watching television. 

Asuka frowned at Misato. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Shinji! You almost killed him!"

"Well, he deserved at little scare. Besides, Wondergirl saved him from drowning."

"Asuka! That liquid that fills the Eva cages can kill you if you breathe it in! They had to bring Shinji to the emergency room! And besides that, how could you just stand there when Shinji was drowning in the first place!"

"Well he's fine now, isn't he!" Asuka yelled at Misato. She blamed Misato's anger on Shinji. If he had only known how to swim, she wouldn't be in the mess she was. Stupid Shinji.

"That's not the point! If Rei hadn't been there Shinji might have died!"

"It's not my fault that the idiot doesn't know how to swim!"

"You should have gone in after him!"

"Like I had a chance! Wondergirl was in there seconds after he called for help."

"Whatever! If Shinji weren't going to be in the hospital recovering, I would take you off of duty, but thanks to you we're one pilot short! If an angel attacks and we all die, it will be all your fault!"

"Oh, so Mr. Number One can't pilot his Eva, can he? I guess he's not Number One after all."

"Is that why you tried to kill him?"

"I didn't try to kill him! Who ever heard of a teenager who couldn't swim! It's not my fault!" Asuka ran to her room and slammed her door. Her rage at Shinji was incubating within her.

"Dammit Asuka! If you ever do something like this again, I'll make sure you never pilot an Eva again for the rest of your life!" Misato yelled at Asuka's closed door.

"Hah, you need me, you _dummkopf!_ I'm the Second Child; you need me to pilot Unit Two!"

"No we don't Asuka. We just need to consult the Marduk Report and find the Fourth Child, and whoever that is _will_ replace you! Face it Asuka, you're expendable!"

"Oh, and your precious Shinji and that doll Ayanami aren't?"

"They didn't try to kill another pilot!"

"I didn't try to kill him!"

"Well, you didn't try and help him when he was drowning!"

"Shut up!"

"No, Asuka!"

"Shut up!"

"No!"

"It's not my fault!"

The screaming in Misato's apartment continued for two hours, and only ended when Misato could no longer yell because of her dry throat.

_I need a drink,_ she thought. _Perhaps I should take Kaji up on that offer._

* * *

Two days later, Rei was sitting beside Shinji's bed like she had since she had been allowed to visit him. They had been keeping him sedated so his body could repair itself faster. Only a half hour ago had they stopped giving him the serum that kept him asleep. He should be waking up soon. 

Every hour that passed as Rei sat here made her think more and more about how she didn't want to lose Shinji. The profound sense of loss and despair she had felt when she had thought that Shinji had drowned was something she never wanted to experience. And for the first time in her life, Rei felt like hurting someone out of anger.

The Second Child was the source of her hate. She had almost taken Shinji away from Rei forever. That was unforgivable. Rei knew that if she hadn't gone down to see her Eva that Shinji would have drowned. She didn't believe that the Second Child would have helped him. After all, she just stood there while Rei was frantically looking for Shinji. She had been disappointed when she heard that the Second Child would still be piloting. She had hoped that the girl would have been dismissed back to her home in Germany, or better yet, locked up.

"Hello, Ayanami."

Rei was broken from her thoughts and she turned her face to Shinji's and saw that his eyes were open. "Good morning, Ikari."

Shinji smiled at her. "Thank you, Ayanami."

Rei cocked her head. "For what?"

"For saving my life."

"You're… welcome, Ikari." She looked at her lap to hide a blush. She seemed to be doing that around Shinji too often of late.

He smiled again. This time Rei didn't move fast enough and Shinji caught the faint pink on her pale cheeks. "What happened to Asuka?"

Rei's eyes narrowed at her lap. She really did not like the second child. She looked up at Shinji. "Major Katsuragi is chewing on her."

Shinji's eyes widened. "Misato is what?"

"Dr. Akagi told me that 'Misato was chewing her out.'"

"Oh. That's just a figure of speech Ayanami. It means that she's yelling at Asuka."

"Oh." Rei's face fell. She had been hoping that getting chewed on would hurt the Second Child.

"Asuka really isn't a bad person, Ayanami. She probably feels really bad about what she did. Besides, it's my fault anyway. I should have been more sympathetic toward her when I got a higher sync ratio than she did."

Rei shook her head. "That is not true, Ikari. You are no more at fault than I am. The Second Child caused this, and all fault lies with her."

"Still…" Shinji trailed off. "Um, Rei?" Something had just occurred to him. "After you pulled me out of the water… did you, um…"

"I performed the Heimlich maneuver on you."

"Oh," Shinji said.

"And when that failed I performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

"Ah…" Shinji said. Well, he supposed that could count as a kiss; a kiss of life, perhaps.

"Does it disturb you that I have made mouth-to-mouth contact with you, Ikari?" Rei asked worriedly. It had already occurred to her while Shinji had been sleeping that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was technically a kiss.

"No! I mean… well… How do I say this?"

Before Shinji could find a way to say what he meant, Dr. Akagi walked in.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw Rei and Shinji together again. She definitely didn't like how this was looking. But she still had no proof that anything was going on between them. At least the were still referring to each other by their family names. If she had only walked in a few moments earlier…

"Well, Shinji," Ritsuko said. "Everything checks out, you're fit to pilot again."

"Oh," Shinji said. He didn't like piloting his Eva, and was hoping that being in the hospital would enable him to avoid piloting. Such wasn't the case. He looked at Rei. Then he turned back to Dr. Akagi. "Alright," he said. Rei had saved his life, the least he could do was protect her on the battlefield. He would have gladly done that for her even if she hadn't saved his life.

Ritsuko nodded.

Then the alarm went off, signaling an angel attack.

"Damn, and not a moment to soon," Ritsuko said.

Shinji got out of his bed and ran out on to the balcony outside his room. Ritsuko and Rei joined him as he looked over the edge and into Tokyo-3.

Floating in the air in the middle of the city was a gigantic, zebra-striped sphere.

"So that's the new Angel," Ritsuko said as she looked out at the giant sphere. She turned to Shinji and Rei. "Let's get you two to your Eva's," she said, and then she walked towards the door.

Shinji and Rei followed after her. Both of them swore to themselves that they would do everything in their power to protect the person standing next to them.


	4. Chapter 4: Come Back to Me

**Chapter Four**

When Shinji, Rei, and Dr. Akagi reached NERV headquarters, they each went their separate ways. Dr. Akagi went to the command center, Rei went to the women's locker room, and Shinji went to the men's locker room. While it would be just a normal change for Shinji, the other two were about to find out some unpleasant surprises. Dr. Akagi's surprise had a head of dark blue hair, while Rei's had one of red.

As Rei reached the door to the locker room, the door slid open, and she stepped inside.

Only to immediately want to step back out when she saw the redheaded German girl getting her plug suit on. She thought better of it, however, when leaving meant that, even if she could still pilot her Eva without a plug suit, she wouldn't be able to perform to her full capacity, and thus some of the protection she wanted to give Shinji wouldn't exist. She mentally composed herself, and forced her feet to take her through the door.

She was able to change into her plug suit quite quickly, and was about to leave for her Eva when Asuka shouted out: "Gah! Damn you, Misato! It hurts!"

"What's the matter, Pilot Soryu?" Rei asked, not out of concern, but because she wanted to know who she should thank for putting the Second Child in pain.

"Misato bit me last night," Asuka said, holding up her forearm so Rei could see the imprints of teeth lining it. "She got drunk again and suddenly attacked me for no reason!"

"I see," Rei said. For some reason, Rei found that she felt really happy; almost as happy as she was when she was around Shinji. For the first time in her life, Rei had trouble masking her emotions around someone other than Shinji. The corners of her mouth kept trying to move upwards in a smile.

"What's the matter with you, Wondergirl?" Asuka said as she watched Rei's face contort as she tried to keep her composure. "You going to sneeze?"

Rei turned from Asuka to keep her from seeing anything else. "I'm leaving," she said as she walked to the door.

"Yeah, well, tell that idiot Shinji…"

Rei turned around at the mention of Shinji.

"Tell him… oh forget it!" Asuka turned away from Rei and towards the ground. "It's not like that idiot would care anyway."

Rei stood there a moment, speculating on what the Second Child might have had to say to Shinji, but soon discarded it because she wanted nothing to do with someone who almost took Shinji away from her forever. She turned and walked out the door.

* * *

Rei had already gotten into her Eva by the time Shinji reached the elevator; however, there was no way that he could have known that, so he stood there waiting for here. That's when Asuka appeared. 

"Oh, hello Asuka," Shinji said as he smiled at her.

Asuka almost gaped at Shinji. It still amazed her how he could be as forgiving as he was, even after she almost let him drown.

"Uh… hi, Shinji," she said once she recovered. She looked at the elevator and noticed that it wasn't moving. "Did you forget to have the elevator come up?" she asked.

"Ah, yes," Shinji said nervously as he put his hand behind his head. He couldn't very well tell Asuka that he had been waiting for Rei. "Shouldn't we wait for Ayanami?" he asked.

"She already left. She's probably already in her Eva." she said.

"You're probably right," Shinji said a bit sadly. _Rei really isn't the type to wait for people_, he thought. _Not even me._

The door to the elevator suddenly opened and Asuka stepped in.

"Come on, Shinji!"

Shinji stepped into the elevator after her.

They were silent as the elevator descended. There were many times that Asuka tried to break the silence by telling Shinji that she was sorry for what she did to him, but she could never bring herself to say the words. Soon the doors opened into the Eva cages. As soon as they stepped out onto the catwalk suspended of the disinfectant, Asuka immediately looked at the ground.

Shinji noticed the sudden movement and looked at Asuka. "Don't worry, Asuka," he said, trying to make her feel better. "It wasn't you're fault."

He failed miserably.

"My fault?" Asuka repeated, heat rising into her voice as she clenched her fists. "My fault? Of course it wasn't my fault, you _dumkopf_!" She looked up and glared at Shinji. She knew that she was being irrational, but she couldn't help it because deep down she knew that it was her fault, and that was something that she couldn't handle. Even though Shinji had said it wasn't her fault, it would have been better if he had said that it was. Shinji was always so nice to people, and Asuka knew that. She knew that he would say that even if he thought it was her fault. And how couldn't he? After what she did to him…

Shinji put his hands up before him and stepped back from the glare that she was giving him, afraid that she might try and hurl him into the liquid again, and this time there was no Rei to save him. Asuka glared at him for a few more moments before stomping off to her own Eva cage.

_What's with her?_ Shinji thought, getting slightly annoyed. _I always try to be nice to her, and how does she react? She throws me into a lake of disinfectant and almost kills me! If only she were a bit more like Rei… _Suddenly his mind snapped back to the matter at hand. Rei was probably already out there facing the angel. He had to go help her!

Running down the catwalk, he ran towards where he would get into his entry plug.

As soon as the doors of the entry plug were shut behind him, he felt the entry plug jerk as a large machine grabbed it. He felt it move upwards and over, moving towards the back of his Eva. Suddenly there was a lurch followed by a spin as the machine released the plug and it was screwed into the back of the Eva. LCL filled the chamber, and Shinji felt his mind becoming one with the Eva as he synchronized with it.

* * *

"Five minutes until the evacuation of the Western district can be completed." 

"The target is advancing slowly at approximately 2.5 km per hour.

"You're late, Major!" Ritsuko said as Misato ran into the command center.

"Sorry!" Misato said. "What's going on? The Fuji observation center-"

"-never detected it!" Aoba cut her off. "It just suddenly appeared right above us."

Hyuga looked up from his control panel. "The pattern is orange. No AT-Field detected."

Misato looked at the screen showing the large, striped sphere. "What is that thing?"

"A new kind of Angel?" Ritsuko asked.

Maya answered. "Unknown, the Magi are withholding their judgment on that."

Misato swore in frustration. "Damn. Another situation like this and Commander Ikari is not here again!" She turned to look at Ritsuko. "Asuka and Rei are in their units?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Shinji as well. While waiting for you, major, we had their Eva's launched and they are standing by inside the city."

"Are you sure Shinji can do this?" Misato asked.

"Positive. Now, Major, if you don't mind, we need to give them their orders."

"Right," she said. "Can you all hear me?" she spoke to the pilots. "I've sent you all of the known target data. That's literally all we know right now. Approach it careful and observe its reaction. And if possible, try to lure it outside of the city. Shinji, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Misato," Shinji said.

"Alright. I want you all to backup each other. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Asuka said, "but don't you think that Shinji ought to be taking the point position?"

Misato saw Shinji turn his head to the monitor that showed him Asuka.

"Huh?" he said.

"Well, it's only right that a job like this should go to the highest rated, bravest, number one sychro-ratio holder of them all, don't you think? Or could it be that you don't feel up to it, Shinji?"

_Asuka,_ Misato thought,_ just damn your ego for once and shut up!_ She could see that Asuka was getting to Shinji, especially after that incident a few days ago.

"I can do it!" Shinji yelled at Asuka. "In fact, I'll show you how it ought to be done, Asuka!"

Asuka's eyes widened. "What was that!"

"Will the two of you cut it out," Misato said, hoping to stop their fighting.

"Oh, gee, didn't you tell me, Misato, that I was number one," Shinji said to her.

"Well, yeah, but I-"

"And after all, combat is a man's job!" Shinji gave her a thumbs up as his monitor blinked out and his Eva started moving.

Asuka was glaring at where Shinji's monitor had been inside her Eva. "You chauvinist pig!" she growled in frustration before saying, "Unit Two will back him up." Her monitor blinked out.

"Unit Zero will backup as well," Rei said before her monitor also vanished.

"Oh, I don't believe these kids," Misato said.

Ritsuko smirked at Misato. "Shinji's hormones are kicking in, aren't they?"

Misato gritted her teeth. "I'm gonna' have to chew him out when he gets back."

"Of course, _you're_ a model guardian," Ritsuko said, not attempting to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "But you know, it's not his fault. I'd have done a lot worse if Asuka had almost had me drowned."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Misato said. Vaguely she recalled something about Asuka from the night before. It was something about yelling, and then Misato had been chewing on something soft while it was thrashing around as Asuka swore at her repeatedly. She shook her head. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been too important.

* * *

Shinji was sitting in his Eva, which was standing just around the corner from the giant sphere. He wasn't mad Asuka per se, but more like extremely annoyed. After all, she had almost killed him, and then hadn't even said she was sorry when he'd seene her today. Instead, she acted like it was his fault that he almost drowned. Shinji shook his head. He didn't understand her. Then on top of all that, she goaded him into insulting her abilities in battle. Yes, he was annoyed. 

"Ayanami, Asuka, are you in your positions yet?" he said.

"Not yet," Rei's voice drifted over the communication system, followed by Asuka's voice saying, "You know an Eva can't move that fast, you twit!"

Shinji waited a moment longer before saying, "Are you there?" Getting no reply, he assumed that they weren't in their positions. _All right, I'll stop it myself._

Shinji spun around the corner of the building and fired three separate shots at the possible angel. Right when the energy blasts were about to tear through the sphere-

"It vanished!" Shinji heard Ritsuko say from within the command center. He didn't need to hear her to know what had happened; he had seen the Angel vanish with his own eyes. _That can't be…_

"Status?" Misato said.

"Pattern blue," Hyuga said. Then panic appeared in his voice. "Angel confirmed, it's right beneath Unit One!"

"What?" Shinji yelled as he looked down to the ground. A circular shadow slowly spread out from beneath his Eva. It was black as pitch. Unit One slowly started to sink into it. "A shadow? What the hell is this!" Shinji started thrashing around as he tried to escape the inky shadow, but to no avail. Quicksand would have been easier to escape. He looked above him and saw the black and white sphere once again hovering in the sky above the city. "This can be happening!"

"Shinji, get out of there!" Misato yelled. "Shinji!"

"Ikari!" he heard Rei yell.

"You idiot, get your ass in gear and get out of there!" Asuka screamed to him.

Shinji was screaming in panic as he sunk deeper into the shadow, which had already engulfed Unit One up past its waist. "Misato, what's going on? Misato! Help me! Misato! Misato!"

Back in the command center, Misato whipped around to Maya at the control panel. "Eject that plug! Get him out of there!"

"No response. It's not working!" Maya yelled as she repeatedly tried to eject the entry plug from Unit One.

Shinji's voice came over the radio again. "Can you hear me Misato, Misato! Asuka! Ayanami!" Then they saw Unit One slip entirely beneath the surface of shadow.

"Shinji!" Misato yelled. "Asuka, Rei. Rescue Unit One. Hurry!"

"What's the point of getting A's on tests if not in the real world!" Asuka said to them as she ran over to where Shinji had vanished. "If he's the number one pilot then why did this happen?"

Suddenly the shadow vanished.

"It's gone again!" Maya shouted.

Ritsuko's head had been looking at the control panels when she suddenly snapped it up and yelled, "Asuka, watch the street!"

Asuka immediately looked below her and saw the shadow spread out beneath her unit. "The shadow!" she yelled. Before her unit could start to sink, she leaped up and grabbed onto one of the skyscrapers. As she had her Eva's arms and legs wrapped around the building, it too began to sink into the shadow.

"No!" Asuka said as she desperately tried to climb higher on the building, eventually taking out her progressive knife and slamming it into the side of the building to use as a handhold and foot stand. When she reached the top, she stared out at the sight that greeted her.

"The whole city is sinking..." she whispered as she watched the buildings sink into the shadow.

Asuka's radio crackled as Misato's voice came over it. "Asuka, Rei. Pullback! Get out of there!"

Asuka whipped her head to the screen that showed Misato staring at them. "What! Huh?" _What about Shinji?_ she thought. She opened her mouth to yell at Misato, but someone else cut her off.

"But Unit One and Shinji are still in there!" Asuka heard Rei yell to Misato. She looked over towards the screen showing Rei's panicked face. _What the?_

"This is an order," Misato said. "Withdraw. Now."

* * *

Rei's world was in chaos. She had just saved Shinji from drowning, and now he vanished into a shadow. What's more is that she heard overheard a conversation between Dr. Akagi and Lieutenant Maya Ibuki. 

"Major Katsuragi must feel terrible," Maya had said.

"They reeled Shinji's Umbilical Cable back in," Ritsuko had replied, "but the other end was missing."

"Then without power..."

"There's not much energy left in the internal batteries. If Shinji doesn't waste it groping blindly in the dark, if he stays in the most minimal life-support mode, then he can survive for sixteen hours."

Sixteen hours. It had been four hours since Shinji and Unit One were taken into the angel. There were only twelve left, and they still didn't know what they were going to do to rescue Shinji. _Shinji, hold on. I promised to protect you; stay alive._

"The second tank battalion has been deployed."

"Roger. Hold your current positions and stand by."

"Confirmed condition green. New line transmitting data."

Aoba turned to Misato. "The UN Force's have surrounded the shadow."

"Movement?" she asked Hyuga, not taking her eyes from the hovering sphere.

"It hasn't moved," he said. "It stopped spreading once it passed a diameter of 600 meters. Speaking of which, is there a reason for moving all those ground troops in there?"

"They're there to help us apply pressure, theoretically," Misato said. Her tone said that she didn't believe that excuse one bit.

"Well," Asuka suddenly said, "taking matters into his own hands, defying operations, I guess he got what he was asking for. Just because he got a little better score than mine, why'd he have to go and try to show me, how it ought to be done."

Rei's anger at the Second Child flared up as she stepped in front of Asuka and glared at her.

Asuka was surprised, but quickly recovered. "What? Oh, are my comments about Shinji pissing you off, Wondergirl?"

"Yes, Pilot Soryu, I think they are," Rei said as she continued to glare at her.

Asuka had not been expecting _that _reply, especially from Rei. However, it did fit in with something she had been brooding about ever since Shinji had been taken into the angel, something that she needed need an answer to. She started to taunt Rei. "Why? Oh, wait, I see now. After all, you did call him by his first name when the angel was absorbing him. Why is that, First Child? You never call anyone by their first name, not even your precious commander. You're wasting your time. There's still no way that he would ever be interested in a doll like you."

That moment was the closest that Rei had ever come to loosing control of her actions. Had it not been for the years she spent keeping all of her emotions for herself, she surely would have leapt at Asuka and wrapped her hands around the German girl's throat.

"That is not your concern, and I am _not_ a doll," Rei said forcefully. _Did I really call Shinji by his first name?_ "Remember, Pilot Soryu, that you were the one who caused him to act the way he did today."

"What! Are you saying that his is my fault!"

"Yes," Rei said. Then she narrowed her eyes at the fiery redhead. _Shinji pilots his Eva for me, and though he doesn't know it, I pilot my Eva for him. We are both selfless in this matter, thinking only of another. But Pilot Soryu… _"I wonder," she said, looking at Asuka, "do you only pilot an Eva for the praise of others?"

Asuka's eyes widened for a moment, betraying to Rei that she had guessed correctly, contrary to the Second Child's next words. "What in the hell are you talking about? I don't need to have anybody's approval but my own!"

"Cut it out, you two. That's enough," Misato yelled at them. "Asuka is right, he acted arbitrarily and without consulting anyone."

"But Major-" Rei started to say.

"I said that's enough, Rei," Misato cut her off. "I guess," she hesitated, choking back tears at the thought of Shinji being stuck in the angel. "I guess, I'll just have to punish him, when he comes back." _If he comes back…_

"Hah!" Asuka said, sticking her nose in the air and smiling. "See, First Child? It's not my fault at all. It's just that idiot Shinji's-WHAT THE HELL?" Asuka jumped back as a large pile of boxes toppled over, nearly crushing her.

Misato whipped around when she heard the crash. "What? Asuka, are you okay?" she said.

"Of course, piles of boxes aren't going to do me in, Misato."

Rei was glaring at the boxes. _Why did you miss?_ She mentally thought at them. Then she shook her head as she realized that her anger was getting the better of her. _Shinji wouldn't want Pilot Soryu hurt, even though she almost killed him. _She forced her face to return to its normal expression of utter nothingness. It would not do Shinji any good to start crying. She had to think of a way to get him out of there. There was a way; there must be.

She would not lose Shinji.

* * *

Shinji Ikari sat curled up in a ball inside his entry plug. He had turned all the electronics off save for the life support. He huddled close to himself to conserve warmth so that the heating system could be turned down low. He was stuck in his Eva, with no food, and nothing to do. Worst of all, he had no idea where he was. 

Shinji sighed and started talking to himself, like all people who are lonely eventually do. "I never thought that doing nothing could be this exhausting." He said. He was incredibly tired, from stress, and fear. He hoped that Asuka and Rei were all right, and that they weren't stuck somewhere like he was. He knew that it was his fault for being stuck in here. He shouldn't have let himself be goaded by Asuka.

Uncurling himself from the ball he was in, Shinji stretched out to the joysticks in his Eva and activated the monitors. Rainbow colored rings shot up through the entry tube as the monitors were given energy and powered up. Finally the rings stopped, and the walls of the entry plug were replaced by whiteness stretching on into infinity.

"Still nothing but white noise." He looked to the gauges on the arms of his seat. "No radar data or sonar reflections." Shinji leaned back and sighed once more as he cut the power to the view screens. "It's been 12 hours since I switched to life-support-mode. My life will end in 4 or 5 hours... I'm hungry."

Shinji almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. He was going to drown in the LCL once the power ran out and the LCL could no longer oxygenate his lungs, and he was worried about food. But amusement couldn't last long.

* * *

"So that shadow is actually the Angel's body?" Misato said to Ritsuko, who was standing in front of a large chalkboard that was covered with complex equations. 

"Correct, it's 680 meters in diameter, with a thickness of 3 nanometers," Ritsuko explained as she pointed individual scribbling on the bored behind her. "Sustained within that ultra-thin space, is an inverted AT-Field, inside of that Field is a region of space, that can only be defined by abstract mathematics: a 'Sea of Dirac.' It could be another universe."

"What about the sphere?"

"It disappears, when the imaginary circuit of the body closes. This implies that the object in the sky is a kind of shadow."

"So the black shadow that swallowed Unit One, is the real target?"

"Then there's no way we can fight it," Asuka said quietly. "Damn."

The two older women continued to talk to each other about the new angel as Asuka, dressed in her plug suit, quietly slipped off.

"Look, there must be something we can do. We need to save Shinji!" was the last thing that Asuka heard Misato say as she walked away, back towards the NERV locker rooms. She didn't really care at the moment anyway.

In the locker room, she stripped herself of the plug suit and turned on the shower. She stepped under the deluge of hot water and felt it flow over her body and down onto the ground, where it made its way to the drain. Steam rose from the water, changing the locker room into an artificial sauna. She arched her back and dragged her fingers through her red hair and sighed. "Damn you, Shinji," she said. Pulling her hands from her hair, leaned over and put her hands on the shower wall.

_Why the hell did you have to go and get sucked into an angel? _she mentally screamed at Shinji. _Damn you and damn your stupid Eva. _She took her right hand from the wall and slammed it back in a fist. _You idiot! You just had to go and show everyone how much better than me you were, didn't you? Well, look where it got you! Maybe next time you'll-_

_"Remember, Pilot Soryu, that you were the one who caused him to act the way he did today,"_ Rei's voice echoed through the German girl's mind.

"No!" Asuka yelled as she slammed both hands against the wall again, as she looked at the ground, the water from the shower streaming down her back and her legs. "It's not my fault!" She screamed as the wall as she continued to slam her hands into it.

"It's not my fault," she whispered as each slam of her palms against the wall became weaker and weaker. Eventually the pounding of the walls stopped and Asuka shook with unshed tears.

"Dammit, Soryu!" she said to herself. "Don't cry! You're not that weak!" _If Shinji were here, he's be trying to cheer me up..._

"No! It's not my fault!" Asuka resumed slamming the walls with even more vigor than she had previously. "It's not my fault!"

* * *

Shinji groaned as he woke up. Slowly, he exposed his eyes to the LCL as he opened them. Still half asleep, it was a few seconds before he realized what he was seeing. 

Shinji gasped. "The water is getting cloudy!" he yelled as he realized it was getting harder and harder to see the side of the entry plug. Bits of congealed LCL floated around in the Link Connection Liquid. "The purification system is breaking down!"

Shinji gasped again, and his stomach heaved. He yanked his hands up over his mouth and nose, trying to prevent the coppery taste of the LCL from entering either. "It smells in here! Blood! This place smells like blood!"

Shinji leaped out of the chair inside of the entry plug, the throne of the soul, and floated up toward the exit hatch. In a panicked frenzy, he grabbed the handle on the hatched and yanked on it, trying fruitlessly to open it up. Even had he been able to get it open, the entry plug was still buried in the Eva's back, preventing any escape. "No! I hate this place! Let me out! Why can't I open this lock!" He banged on the hatch, causing a low ring to echo throughout the entry plug each time his hand banged against the hatch. "Open up, let me out! Misato, tell me what's going on! Misato! Asuka! Ritsuko! Father! Ayanami… Please, someone help me…" Shinji trailed off as exhaustion and stress took over once again, and he limply floated back down into the throne of the soul.

* * *

Misato turned from the giant, zebra-striped sphere in the sky to regard Ritsuko. She was in her usual lab coat, and was staring at her ever-present clipboard through black-rimmed glasses. Misato idly wondered why Ritsuko had called her out here. She tapped her foot in impatience and folded her arms as she stared at Ritsuko, trying to will her to talk. 

Eventually, Ritsuko looked up from her clipboard and saw the Major tapping her foot. She closed her eyes and sighed. She had been dreading this moment since the plan which she was about to reveal was conceived. Lowering her clipboard, she looked at Misato.

"Well?" Misato said.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Dr. Akagi opened her mouth and spoke. "We have a plan for rescuing Unit One."

Misato's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, before she sighed in relief. "So there is a way to fight that thing. How are we going to get Shinji out of there?"

Ritsuko didn't answer, but simply stared at Misato as she tried to will what she was thinking over and into the Major's brain.

"Hello? Ritsuko?" Misato was waving her arms in front of Ritsuko's face trying to get her to answer.

"That's enough Major," she said, causing Misato to cut her antics short. "The plan is to destroy the shadow up using N2 mines."

Misato's eyes widened as the implications of that statement sank in. "Your going to blow the shadow up?" she yelled.

Ritsuko nodded her head. "I'm afraid it's the only possibility that might work. The plan is to drop all 992 existing N2 mines into the target's center, while simultaneously activating the AT-Fields of both remaining Evas in such a way as to disrupt the hypothetical circuit that encloses the Angel's pocket interior," she explained. "If we concentrate enough explosive power, during that same microsecond, we could destroy the Angel along with the Dirac Sea that makes up it's body."

Misato froze. She stuttered as she tried to speak to Ritsuko. "But the damage to Eva would be… Shinji wouldn't…What in the hell kind of rescue operation is this!" Misato finally yelled at the doctor.

"I said that we found a way to rescue _Unit One_, Major, not the pilot. Our priority is to get the Eva back, even if it has to be destroyed in the process."

"Now wait a second!"

"Under these conditions, the pilot's life is irrelevant."

Misato snapped, and she drew her fist back before screaming and smashing her hand into the side of Ritsuko's face, knocking the glasses from her head and onto the ground.

Ritsuko was bent over, breathing heavily, with an angry Misato glaring at her. A helicopter flew over head, and their clothes were rippled by the gust of wind it sent at them.

"It's your responsibility if Shinji's lost, Misato!" Ritsuko looked up at Misato and screamed. "You seem to have forgotten that!"

Misato rushed Ritsuko and grabbed a hold of her lab coat collar, bringing her face up close to Ritsuko's as she glared at her. "Then why in the hell are you and Commander Ikari so worried about recovering Unit One? What's so special about it?" she growled.

"You've been given all the information, Major."

"That's bull!" Misato said as she tightened her grip on Ritsuko's collar

Ritsuko sighed. In a calm and control voice, she said, "Misato, just trust me." She gently put her hand on Misato's and moved it away from her collar. Then she turned and started to walk away, and then stopped. With her back turned to Misato, she said "I'm taking command of this entire operation, effective immediately." She resumed walking and took a two-way radio from her pocket and spoke into it. "Forward all flights to Kankuu international airport. Contact Air Control and Air Transport Divisions..."

Misato remained where she was, thinking. _Second Impact, The Instrumentality Project, Adam; there are so many secrets that I'm in the dark about. I may need a favor soon, Kaji._ Misato turned and walked opposite the way Ritsuko went, heading back towards her apartment.

* * *

"They're going to what?" Asuka blurted out when Misato told her and Rei what Ritsuko said. 

"They're going to drop all the N2 mines on the angel, and then you and Rei are going to use your Eva's AT fields against it. It's the only way to destroy the angel. You both need to get some sleep before it begins," Misato said.

"Your crazy! If Shinji is still in the angel when that happens, he'll—"

"I know, Asuka! I don't like it one bit either, but now Ritsuko's in command and I can't do anything about it!" Misato screamed.

There was a long pause, and then Rei spoke up. "I will not allow harm to come to Ikari," she said. Then she stood up and walked out the door.

Misato and Asuka blinked at her. "What?" they both said in confusion when Rei was gone.

Rei left Misato's apartment and walked through the halls of the apartment building. She knew where she was going; she had a specific destination in mind. She left the apartment building and exited onto the cold, dark streets. Walking under the light of the street lamps, she navigated through Tokyo-3 towards NERV headquarters. Rei could see the spherical shadow of her enemy, the angel that swallowed Shinji. No matter where she was in the city, it was always there, unmoving. Even when buildings were between her and the angel, she still knew it was there.

Upon reaching the giant complex, Rei took out her keycard and swiped it through the reader, allowing her access to headquarters. When the doors opened, she walked in and kept going after the door hissed shut behind her. People were still up and about. There were only two or three hours left until sunrise, the time when Shinji's Eva would be devoid of all power, and he would die. Everyone at NERV now knew what the plan was, and all were uneasy with it. Knowing that destroying the angel would also mean killing one of their comrades didn't sit well with any of them.

Rei directed herself towards Dr. Akagi's office. She didn't feel any anger at the moment, but felt no emotion at all. But there was a feeling, one that she felt too often these days. The feeling that Rei felt, was the feeling she felt each time she got into her Eva and went to battle against an angel.

As she was almost to the doctor's office, Lieutenant Maya Ibuki rounded the corner up ahead and almost ran into Rei.

"Rei!" she said as she jumped back to keep herself from walking into the girl. After she had steadied herself, the fact that Rei was at NERV and not sleeping like she was supposed to dawned on her. "Rei? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting some rest for…" she trailed off as Rei gave her an icy glare. She was startled not only by the fact that _Rei _actually glared at her, but also by the intensity of it, which was helped along by the fact that Rei's eyes were red, giving her a fearful appearance.

"I am here to see Dr. Akagi about that," Rei said in her normally quiet voice, making Maya feel even more disturbed than before.

"I see…" Maya thought. _She certainly doesn't look too happy. Ritsuko, I'm sorry, but I don't think I can hold her off…_

Before Maya had even finished thinking, Rei pushed pass her and continued to wards the doctor's office. Maya just stood there, watching Rei go, wondering at her odd behavior, before she turned and went on her way.

Rei stood in front of Ritsuko's door. She didn't have the door open, didn't even knock. She just stood there on the threshold to Dr. Akagi's office. _The angels are hard enough enemies,_ Rei thought,_ but if I must make enemies of Dr. Akagi and NERV for Shinji's sake, I will._ She put her hand to touch pad on the door and pushed.

Hearing the door slide open behind her, Ritsuko said, "Is that you, Maya?" Getting no reply, she turned away from her computer monitor and saw Rei standing in her doorway. "Oh, Rei," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Rei remained silent for a while, looking at Ritsuko. Then she took a breath and said, "I will not pilot Unit Zero."

Ritsuko didn't move for a second, stunned with shock. Finally, she closed her eyes and shook herself. "I'm sorry, Rei, but I thought you just said that you wouldn't pilot Unit Zero."

Rei nodded.

"Why?"

"Because Ikari is still in the angel. If we destroy it, there is little chance that he will survive."

"Rei," Ritsuko said calmly, "our priority is to get Unit One back. Shinji comes second."

"It cannot be that way, Dr. Akagi."

"Excuse me? Fine then, tell me why Shinji should take priority over Unit One."

_Because I care more about the pilot than the Eva._ "Because he is a pilot. As of right now, there are only two pilots, myself and Pilot Soryu," Rei said, aware that the doctor would not take it well if she were to learn about the strange feelings Rei had towards Shinji, which Rei could still not define. "NERV has been able to create Eva Units; however, they cannot create pilots. The current pilots were searched for, and over a period of seven years, only three have been found. Unless NERV has found a way to create pilots, Pilot Ikari is not expendable, whereas Unit One, which can be replaced, is."

"Unit One isn't the only thing that can be replaced, Rei, or have you forgotten that?" Ritsuko said as she glared at the blue haired girl before her. Then she sighed, letting her anger go. "Rei, I understand how you feel. We are all worried about Shinji, but this is the only plan that might destroy the angel. And while the chances of Shinji surviving are low, they still exist. If we waited and thought up another plan, it wouldn't matter anyway, because Shinji would already be dead. Right now this is the only thing that we can do. Now, Rei, please leave, I have work to do before tomorrow."

Rei stood there a moment, and then nodded. "I understand," she said. She turned from Dr. Akagi, and left the room, letting the door slide shut behind her.

Fifteen minutes later, Rei Ayanami was at the base of her apartment building. She slowly walked up the steps, passing three flights before she finally came to her floor. Exiting the stairwell, she walked pass a few apartment doors before she came to her own, apartment 402. She was about to open the door and enter the room, but she suddenly felt as if something was watching her. She turned around and looked over the railing and out into Tokyo-3. Her eyes stopped on a giant, black and white orb floating in the sky.

Rei walked out and leaned on the railing as she gazed at the reflection of the angel that swallowed Shinji, who had become the most important person in the world to her. He helped her realize that the commander never cared about her, that she was just imagining care where there wasn't any. He piloted his Evangelion the first time for her, even though it was something that he extremely feared. He kept her alive that day, piloting for her, when she surly would have died if the commander had forced her to pilot the unit. If Shinji hadn't been there…

Suddenly Rei clutched a hand to her chest. She gasped. "What… is this?" she said. There was a pain in the left side of her chest, in her heart. She leaned over the railing and breathed heavily. The pain was different from physical pain, existing on some higher plane. That much she could tell, but she didn't know what it was. It felt reminiscent of the tug at her heart that she had been feeling while thinking of Shinji lately, only magnified a thousand-fold. "What… is this feeling?" Rei said between gasps.

Rei's hands were clasping the railing, and she felt something wet hit them. She looked down. There were drops of water on her hands, and more were landing. "Rain?" she said. She looked up. "No." She felt something run down her cheek. Slowly, she lifted a hand to her face. She withdrew her hand and saw a water droplet on her finger tip. "These… these are tears," she said with mild astonishment, putting her hand back to her cheek. "Am I crying?" More tears dripped down her cheeks, and she withdrew her hand from her cheek, putting it back on the rail.

"Shinji…" she murmured. She looked at the angel's floating shadow. _The chances of Shinji surviving are low,_ she heard Ritsuko say again. _They're going to drop all the N2 mines on the angel,_ came Misato's voice. _He got what he deserved,_ Asuka's mocking voice rang in her head. "No… Shinji!" Rei called out into the night. Her knees gave way and Rei almost fell to the ground had she not been holding onto the railing. Know her face was below the top of the railing, looking out at the city through the bars. She brought her hands down and held the bars, peering out into the darkness at the floating orb that took Shinji from her.

"Shinji…"

* * *

Shinji suddenly woke up. He was still in the entry plug, and the LCL had gotten even cloudier than before. However, he wasn't paying attention. He was looking around wildly for whatever had woken him up. He had felt another presence in his sleep, and still felt it now that he was awake. There was someone else in the entry plug, he could feel it, but he couldn't see any body. "Who's there? Who?" he yelled as he kept turning his head around the entry plug. 

"_Who?_" a voice echoed throughout the entry plug. "_Shinji Ikari._"

Shinji was confused. "But that's me," he said.

The voice responded. "_I am you. This self incorporates another self. The self has always been composed of two selves._"

"Two?" Shinji asked, not quite comprehending what his other self was saying.

"_Yes, the self which is observed and the self which observes itself,_" Shinji's other self said, sounding like a much older and much more mature Shinji. "_To expound, there is the Shinji Ikari that exists in your mind, the Shinji Ikari in Misato Katsuragi's mind, the Shinji Ikari in Asuka Soryu's mind, the Shinji Ikari in Gendo Ikari's mind, and the Shinji Ikari in Rei Ayanami's mind. All are different Shinji Ikari's, but each of them is a true Shinji Ikari. What you fear is the Shinji Ikari's who exist in the minds of others._"

"I'm just afraid of being hated," Shinji said to the voice that was talking to him. He kept looking around the entry plug for the source of the voice, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

"_You're afraid of being hurt._"

"Who is bad?" Shinji suddenly asked of the voice.

"_Father is,_" the voice said in anger. "_The father who deserted us._"

Shinji held his head in his hands. "No! I'm the one who's bad," he said as he remembered things from the past.

"There you go again, your always apologizing!" Asuka yelled at him. He could see her face as clear as if she were standing in front of him, even though he still held his face in his hands. "Do you really think it's your fault!"

"I'm worthless," Shinji muttered into his hands.

Suddenly, Misato was there, in place of Asuka. "No," she said to him. "You just believe that your worthless, Shinji."

Then Rei was there. "Don't you trust your own father?" she said. That was just before she slapped him.

"I thought I hated my father, but now I'm not sure..." he said.

His father's voice echoed through his mind. "That was good work, Shinji."

"My father called me by my name. I was praised by my father," Shinji said, feeling warm at the memory.

His other self interrupted. "_Will you live the rest of your life regurgitating and re-digesting those few pleasant memories?_"

"If I trust their words," Shinji said to the voice, "it's enough, enough to keep me alive."

"_Even though, you know your deceiving yourself?_"

"Everybody does it. That's how everyone survives!" Shinji yelled at the voice.

"_If you will not accept, that you are capable of initiating change within yourself, you will be unable to continue,_" the voice said with a hint of emotion.

"This world is filled with too much pain and suffering to keep going on."

"_For example, you can't swim?_" the voice asked, though it already knew the answer.

"Humans aren't made to float."

"_This is self-deception._"

"I don't care what you wan to call it!"

His other self responded in a patient voice. "_You have been shutting your eyes and covering your ears, making yourself blind and deaf to that which you wish to avoid._"

He heard Kensuke's voice from back when he first transferred to the school in Tokyo-3 "His sister was injured during the incident..." Kensuke had been talking about Touji's younger sister, who was injured when Shinji was fighting an angel.

Misato's voice butted in. "Who cares what the other's say!" she was yelling.

Then he heard his father's voice. "Leave!" It was something Shinji had heard time and time again while with his father.

"No!" Shinji yelled, holding his hands over his ears. "I don't want to hear this!"

"_See, you're running away from the reality again,_" the voice said. "_No one can justify their existence by linking their happiest moments into a kind of rosary. In particular, we cannot._"

"What's wrong with doing something I want to do?" Shinji yelled at the voice, pressing harder against his ears. He sat straight up with his eyes squeezed tight and yelled into the entry plug. "WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!"

* * *

A beep came from the control panel that Hyuga was sitting at. He looked down at the display. "The Entry Plug energy reserves should be reaching their expiration point about now," he said, turning to Ristuko. 

"The Plug Suit's life support system will be getting closer to red line," Maya said worriedly. The atmosphere was tense. Everyone was worried about the pilot of Unit One.

Ristuko stood there thinking for a minute, head tilted and eyes closed. Then she opened her eyes and looked up. "We'll advance the schedule by 12 minutes," she said, and then quietly, "Let's do it while there is a possibility that Shinji is still alive."

* * *

One image dominated Shinji's mind. There was a man slowly walking away from him as he, back when he was just a little kid, stood there crying. "Father, don't you want me?" Shinji called out. "Father!" 

Shinji's other spoke to him. "_It was yourself that you ran away from,_" it said.

Shinji remembered something from his past that had been locked away for a long time. When his father abandoned him, Shinji was living with his teachers. Shinji was supposed to have been asleep, and he had gotten up to get a drink. As he approached the door, he had heard voice's coming from the other side.

"That's right, he may be guilty of killing his own wife!" he had heard one of his teachers saying.

"He killed his own wife?" another had replied.

Upon hearing that, Shinji had run back to bed and stayed there for a whole day.

"No!" the present Shinji yelled as the memory came to him. "Mother was... smiling."

"Shinji, you did something very important today," Misato said to him.

He heard his father's voice, and unlike normally, it was kind and gentle as it consoled him. "Shinji, you must not run away."

"You've got to do your best," Misato said.

Everything was fading, fading back into blackness as Shinji's consciousness returned to the present.

"_Remember, Shinji Ikari,_" his other self said, getting fainter as Shinji's consciousness returned. "_Remember, and change._"

Before he completely returned, another voice echoed throughout the entry plug, a voice that was foreign, yet familiar at the same time. "_Shinji Ikari, though you may not be able to accept it, we _are_ here to help you."_ Then the voices faded completely.

Shinji looked around the empty entry plug. "I hate this place. I hate this loneliness," he said.

It was getting harder for Shinji to breath, and it was getting colder too. "No," Shinji weakly said. "The heat system and the oxygen are giving out." He gasped and started shivering as he pulled himself into a tight ball. "I'm cold." The wrist of his plug suit started flashing a red light, giving of a faint beeping. Shinji looked at it, and then sighed despairingly. "The suit is giving out too." He pulled himself into a tighter ball. "So cold... This is the end... So tired... of everything..." he trailed off as he slowly breathed, slipping into a coma like state.

Suddenly he felt another presence, although one different from his other self. It was a presence that he had felt before, though not in a very long time. So long that he had almost forgotten it. It was all around him, encompassing the entry plug. Shinji's eyes snapped open as he mentally put a name to the presence. When he saw what was in front of him, his eyes opened even wider. There was a woman floating in the LCL before him, though she was see-through and crystalline. She moved towards Shinji and put her arms around his neck as she hugged him.

"Mother?" Shinji said, finally voicing the name of the presence he felt.

He looked down into her face, and a memory engulfed him. He was a little kid, and his mother was standing before him. She was smiling down at him as she gave him a piece of candy. "Is this enough?" she said. Shinji was smiling up at her with the candy cupped in his hands as he nodded at her. She let out a little laugh. "Well, that's good for you," she said.

Suddenly, white light engulfed Shinji's consciousness.

* * *

It was early in the morning, just past sunrise. Evangelion Units Two and Zero stood on opposite ends of the vast shadow that covered the ground. Both pilots were apprehensive about what they were about to do, each pilot nervously glancing at the countdown displayed in their Eva. 

"Both Evas are in position and standing by," Aoba said in the command center.

"AT-Field's are ready to generate," Maya put in.

"Roger," Ritsuko said as she stared at the display screen.

Hyuga spoke up, and everyone tensed at his words. "T-60 seconds to mine drop."

Rei heard Hyuga from within her Eva, and mentally screamed out for Shinji. _Shinji! Please be safe! Unit One! Remember our agreement, protect him!_

Suddenly there was a low rumbling sound, which grew louder and louder without stopping. Everyone looked around wildly for the source of the noise. The ground beneath the shadow started rolling like waves, and everyone stared in astonishment because they had not taken any action yet. A deafening crack suddenly filled the air as the ground beneath the shadow cracked up and was shoved up into the air, the ground rolling and splitting, breaking the shadow apart.

"What in the hell is that!" Asuka's voice came over the radio into the command center, breaking everyone from shock.

"What's going on?" Misato snapped, still unable to take her eyes off the view screen.

"We don't know!" Hyuga yelled.

Maya's eyes were wide as she looked down at her control panel, unable to comprehend what it was saying. "All of our meters and gauges are going off the scale!" she yelled.

"But we haven't done anything yet!" Ritsuko shouted.

Misato suddenly gasped and whipped around to look at the doctor. "You think it could be Shinji?" she asked hopefully.

"It's impossible!" Ritsuko said, furiously waving away the notion. "Unit One's power level must be at zero!"

"Doctor! Look!" Maya said as she pointed to the view screen.

Everyone's eyes returned to the screen.

The sphere in the sky was having spasms. The zebra stripe pattern was fluctuating as the entire sphere seemed to be loosing it's hold on it's physical shape.

"What the hell?" Ristuko said.

Then a black wave seemed to engulf the sphere, all traces of white gone as a pure black sphere hung in the sky.

"Doctor!" Hyuga yelled. "Something is moving in there!"

Nobody needed him to point it out, they could all clearly see the bumps moving beneath the surface of the solid black sphere. Then they all seemed to converge at one point, and suddenly a fountain of blood appeared, spewing out from the sphere.

"Magnify visual by 200 percent!" Ritsuko yelled, and the view screen zoomed up to the fountain of blood. There, they could clearly see the purple fingers of Unit One tearing it's why out from the sphere.

"My God, it's not possible."

Blood started down in a straight line through the sphere, and Unit One tore its way out. The horned head of Unit One emerged from the sphere as it uses it's arms and legs to tear an opening through the sphere. The angel's blood covers the unit. Suddenly, the restraints holding the units jaw close shatter, and Eva Unit One opens it's mouth and lets a out a savage and deafening roar.

The entire populace of the command center shrinks back from the view screen in fear and horror, too terrified of the sight to say anything.

Asuka was looking up at the savage beast covered in blood from her Eva. "Mein Gott! Is that what I'm piloting?" A shiver ran through her body.

Rei just stared out at Unit One impassively, her face etched in deep thought.

"God in heaven," Ritsuko said quietly with her eyes going wide. "What kind of monster have we made this from?"

Though she had been quiet, it was loud enough to reach Misato's ears. _I know that the Evas are more than just copies of the First Angel, _she thought,_ but what is NERV going to do with them? What is NERV going to do with the Evas, once all the Angels have been destroyed?_

Unit one leaped from the sphere, and the sphere exploded. What remained after Unit One had savagely torn it apart was destroyed. Unit one hurtled towards the ground, and landed on its feet with its knees bent, the force which caused the ground to crack and everything to fly outwards in a crater. Unit One rose from its crouch and stood up, the angel's blood flowing down it onto the street.

* * *

"Shinji!" 

Shinji was suddenly aware of a bright light as the hatch to his entry plug opened, letting the LCL flow out and oxygen to come in. He struggled to see, but he couldn't tell what the blurry image above him was. He squinted, and slowly it came into focus.

"Shinji! Shinji!" Misato was standing above him. "Shinji, are you alright!" she said, tears cascading down her face.

Shinji groaned and nodded. Misato collapsed on him and hugged him to her as she continued to weep, so happy that he was safe.

"I just wanted," Shinji said quietly, "to see them one more time."

Misato continued to cry.

"Weren't you going to punish him?" came a snobby voice to the side. Asuka was standing behind Misato. However, she got no answer from the still weeping Misato.

Behind both Misato and Asuka, Rei was standing in the shadows out of sight as she quietly observed Shinji in his entry plug. _He's all right. _She was relieved, and at the moment, unobserved by anyone, and unnoticed by Rei herself, there was a smile across Rei Ayanami's face.

* * *

Water cascaded down the armor plating on Unit One as it washed off the blood. Giant hoses were emptying water onto the Eva as Dr. Akagi and Commander Ikari watched the blood being washed off of the Eva. They stood on the catwalk that spanned the Eva cage, hanging hundreds of feet above the floor, now that the disinfectant was not in the Eva cage because the Eva was being washed. 

Ritsuko was looking up at the Eva as she talked to the commander. "I've never see the Eva looking, as horrifying as it did today," she said. "Are the Evas really on our side? Or do they hate us?" When the commander didn't answer, Ritsuko turned to him. "There's something else. I think that Major Katsuragi may suspect something."

The commander gazed up at the Eva, watching the water flow over it's armor plates and down to the floor hundreds of feet bellow. "Let her be," he said at last, "at least for now."

Ritsuko nodded and turned back to observing the Eva. "If Rei or Shinji were to learn about the Eva secrets, they'd never forgive us."

The commander didn't answer.

* * *

When Shinji woke up, the first thing he saw was the familiar hospital ceiling. _I hate this ceiling,_ he thought. _I've been here to much lately._ Shinji sighed. The ceiling was just too familiar to him. He heard a rustle of clothing. Turning his head, he say Rei sitting in a chair next to his bed. She was getting up to leave. Shinji sat up and tried to get out of bed. 

"You can rest today," Rei said, stopping him from getting up. "We'll take care of everything."

"But, I'm feeling just fine now," Shinji protested.

Rei looked at him. "Well, that's good for you."

Something about what Rei at that moment, what she said, the tone of her voice, and her expression, seemed to tickle something in the back of Shinji's mind, but it faded before he could grasp what it was. He turned to look at a retreating Rei. _Was she waiting for me to wake up?_ he thought. _Rei is always there when I wake up, could it be…_ Shinji shook his head. There's no way that could be it.

Suddenly the door slid open for Rei, and for a second he saw a very surprised Asuka before she jumped out of the way and hid by the doorframe. As Rei walked out, she looked at Asuka.

Shinji half-stifled a laugh from seeing Asuka's surprised face. He pulled his hands up and covered his mouth. He suddenly stopped laughing when he smelled them. He fell back down on his bed and stared at the contemptible ceiling.

"It still smells... like blood."


	5. Chapter 5: Sister

**Chapter Five**

The crack of the spotlight powering on echoed throughout the chamber that Misato stood in. She squinted at the brightness of the light, but other than that, she kept her composure.

"Major Katsuragi, do you still refuse to allow us to question the only person who was directly involved in this incident, the pilot of Unit One?" Lorenz Keel said, breaking the silence.

Misato took a deep breath before replying to the head of SELEE. "Yes, Sir. It is my belief that he is still very unstable emotionally and that bringing him here, into this situation, would be very unwise at the current time."

"Then," a member of SELEE's council said, "as his proxy, let us ask you, Major Katsuragi."

"Did the Angels attempt communication with a human being?" another member asked.

"After reading the subjects reports, I found no concrete evidence to validate that theory. In all likelihood, this irregularly is simply an odd coincidence," Misato said.

"If the subjects memory is correct," yet another member shot at her.

"There was no evidence that his memory had been tampered with," she said, squinting to see whom she was speaking to since they were all shrouded in darkness. The speaking member kept changing rapidly, so she had no idea as to whom she was speaking to.

"But the Eva's AC recorder was not functioning," one of them said, "There is no way to confirm it."

"Was the Angel interested in the human mind?" another asked.

"I am unable to answer that question," Misato said. "Whether the Angels even have a concept of what the human mind is, or whether they can understand our thought patterns, is completely unknown."

"A new factor has been revealed in this incident, in that the Angel tried to take Eva into itself. Is there any possibility that this aspect may be linked to the predicted 13th Angel and all Angels thereafter?" a member asked.

It was clear to Misato that he wasn't addressing his question at her, but at the other members of SELEE. However, she answered anyway. "Based on the previous patterns we have observed, there would appear to be no systematic organization among the Angels."

"Correct. They have worked independently, thus far."

"What do you mean, Sir?" Misato asked, hair standing on end at the implication that multiple angels may attack soon.

"You may not ask questions," Lorenz Keel snapped at her.

"Understood."

"That will be all, dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

The spotlight that had been shining on Misato vanished, and she made her way towards the square of light that indicated the exit.

Once Misato had left and the door to the chamber shut, Lorenz Keel spoke, "Well, what do you think, Ikari?"

A spotlight lit up a one Gendou Ikari sitting at a desk looking over his steepled fingers. "I think," he said slowly, "that some members better watch their tongues and not let any more information slip to those without clearance."

They were all silent for a minute, with two members shifting uneasily in their chairs.

Ikari spoke again as if nothing has happened. "The Angels appear to be getting more intelligent. There's not much time left," he said, before vanishing.

"Left for us, you mean?" Lorenz said into the darkness, unaware that Ikari had already left the holographic terminal that had been displaying his image.

* * *

Shinji was sleeping when the voices of several nurses awoke him. He looked over to his door and saw their silhouettes in the frosted window. He tried to go asleep, but their voices prevented him. 

"Who's the patient in room twelve?" on nurse said.

"That's the emergency room patient, from the first Eva incident. She's been here for a long time," another answered.

Shinji's ears pricked up and he strained to hear their conversation. _The first Eva incident… they must mean when I—!_

"Her injuries are really complicated," a third voice intruded.

"Poor girl and she's still in elementary school," the second said, voice filled with sympathy.

"He's here again today?" the first voice spoke again.

"Yeah. He comes to see her, at least twice a week. He's a good brother, thinking about his sister like that."

"Yeah. Boys like that are pretty rare."

Something about what the nurses were saying tickled the back of Shinji's mind, but he didn't have a chance to grasp it because the handle of the door turned and opened as one of the nurses walked in.

"You've just been cleared," she said to him.

Shinji nodded, and sat up in his bed.

"Here are your clothes," she said again, placing some black pants and a dress shirt down on the chair usually occupied by Rei. "Report to the front desk when you leave." Then she turned and left the room.

Shinji sat there for a long time, thinking. _That girl they were talking about,_ he thought,_ she must've gotten injured when I failed to control the Eva that first time. I'm horrible; I hurt everyone._ Shinji held his face in his hands for a bit, before swinging his legs out of bed, walking over to his clothes and started pulling them on.

As he slipped his arms into the sleeve of the shirt, he suddenly froze, catching a whiff of something.

"Blood," he said. He still smelled like LCL, like blood. After a moment, he finished pulling his arms through and buttoned up the shirt, tucking it in shortly after. Then he turned and left the room.

As he shut the door behind him, an idea occurred to him. What was the room those nurses said the girl was in? Number twelve? He should go to apologize to her, and whoever her brother was. It was his fault that she was in the hospital, so she probably hated him for it. The least he could do was apologize. He set off down the hallway, looking at the room numbers.

"Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen," Shinji counted off the rooms as he walked down the hallway. "Should be almost there," he said as he rounded the corner. "Here it is, room twelve."

Shinji stood there in front of the door. Afraid to knock, yet unwilling to leave, that was Shinji Ikari at the moment. Actually, what he wanted more than anything was to run as far away as he could, but he knew that if he did that, the guilt would only worsen. He stood there, breathing heavily, not knowing what to do. Finally he clenched his hands and let out a big breath before raising his hand to the door, and lightly rapped on it. _Maybe she's asleep and won't hear me…_

His small hope was crushed when he heard a chair slide out and someone start walking to the door. _Oh yeah, the nurses said that her brother was here._ He could feel his hands sweating and the apprehension rising as the footsteps drew even closer. He tried to flee, but his feet weren't moving. _Come on, feet! Move! _His eyes were glued to the handle, and he saw it slowly turn, and the door opened.

"Shinji?" Touji said, surprised when he saw his friend sitting standing beyond the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"Touji!" Shinji sighed in relief. _So it was Touji's sister that they were talking about. I knew something about it sounded familiar._ Shinji suddenly shook himself when he remembered his reason for coming here. "Ah…" he said, looking at the ground and shuffled his feet. "I, um, over heard some nurses talking about a patient that was injured when I first…" he trailed off. "So, I came to apologize."

"Wow, Shinji," Touji said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "That's pretty brave of you. Didn't think that you had it in you."

"Hey, Touji!" a young girl's voice said from within the room. "Who is it? Did someone get the wrong room again?"

"No," the young jock looked over his shoulder and said. "For once, someone besides me came to see you."

"Really who?" Touji's sister said.

Touji stepped farther into the room. "None other than the," he grabbed a hold of Shinji's arm, and yanked him into the room, "esteemed pilot of Evangelion Unit One."

Shinji was staring at the ground, and avoiding looking at Touji's sister.

"Oh," she said. "You're the boy my brother punched!" he heard the girl exclaim. "I'm still mad at him for that."

Shinji looked up at the girl. She was about nine or eight, sitting up against the back of her bed, and had hair the same color of Touji's. However, that's where the familial similarities ended. Her hair was long and straight, down to about 15 centimeters past her shoulder. She had a soft face, the kind that all children had before reaching puberty. He couldn't be sure at this distance, but he thought that her eyes looked the same color as his. He could see that she was very petite, so much so that he almost couldn't believe that she was Touji's sister. But what surprised him the most was the smile that she had on, showing all her teeth. He didn't understand how she could act so joyful when he, the one who caused her the injury that put her in this hospital, was in her presence.

"Um," Shinji said nervously before quickly bowing to her. "I'm really very sorry!" he said quickly, remaining bent at a 90-degree angel even after the words were out of his mouth.

He was surprised when he heard giggling coming from the bed in front of him. He looked up and saw Touji's sister laughing at him. "You're funny," she said, still giggling.

Shinji gave a confused look to Touji, who just shrugged, and said, "Kensuke told you about how angry she was with me when she found out I punched you, didn't he? Said that you saved us all and that it wasn't your fault she got hurt."

"Um… but…" Shinji tried to say as he looked at Touji, and then looked at back at Touji's sister.

"Yup!" she said, looking like she was ready to bounce out of her bed. "I'm even more mad at him now," she said. "How dare he punch such a cute guy?"

Shinji's face flushed red. "Ah…" he trailed off, thinking that it might be more believable if she was Misato's sister instead of Touji's.

Touji was laughing at the look on Shinji's face, and Shinji's impression of a human tomato. He stopped when he realized that Shinji and his sister didn't know each other's names. "By the way, Shinji, this is my eleven year old sister. Rei, this is one of my best friends, Shinji Ikari."

"Rei!" Shinji said in surprise, looking at Touji.

"Don't look so surprised, Shinji," Touji said. "More than one person in the world can be named Rei, you know."

"Well, I suppose that's true, but…" Shinji trailed back off as he looked back at Rei. _She doesn't look like a Rei…_

"Shinji… that's a cute name too!" she said.

Shinji resumed his impression of a tomato.

"Um," he said. "I really am very sorry." He bowed again.

She giggled again. "It's okay," she said. "If you didn't go out in that robot, none of us would have made it. Besides, you're too cute to get mad at." She giggled again as Shinji's face changed color.

_She must have some Katsuragi blood in her veins. _Shinji decided, minus the fact that Misato's blood was at least partially, if not fully, alcohol. If she donated blood, they could probably bottle it and slap on a "Yebisu" label.

"You know," Rei said to Shinji, "you're my hero."

"Ah…" Shinji was at a loss for words.

"You went out in that robot and saved the city!" she said. "And my brother told me that it looks really scary from inside the robot. You must be really brave!"

Shinji just stood there, staring at the little girl.

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them. Shinji and Touji turned around to see a nurse poking her head through the doorway. "Visiting hours are ending, you should leave about now." Then she turned and left them their.

"Oh, already?" Rei pouted.

Touji walked up to his sister and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry," he told her. "I'll come again tomorrow."

Rei looked up at him and smiled. "Alright then," she said as the two boys walked towards the door. "Bye Touji! Bye Shinji!"

"Bye, Rei!" Shinji said as he waved to the little girl.

When the door closed, and they were walking down the hallway to the entrance, Shinji turned to Touji. "Why didn't you say goodbye to your sister, Touji?" he asked.

Touji stopped walking and was looking at the ground.

"Huh?" Shinji said as he stopped soon after. "Touji?"

"I can't say goodbye to her," Touji said, clenching his hands. "Because if I do, I might not see her again."

"What? Touji, she looked like she was doing fine to me," Shinji said.

"She looks like she's doing fine. All her broken bones healed months ago, but she still has internal bleeding that they haven't been able to completely stop. They might halt it for a while, but it starts up again eventually. That's why she isn't allowed out of the hospital, or even out of bed yet. They still aren't sure if they can save her."

"What? So you mean she might…" Shinji trailed off quietly, not sure if he was hearing right. _That means that it would be my fault if she—_

"But anyway," Touji said in a light voice, suddenly resuming his walking and seeming to have completely forgotten what they had just been talking about. "What were you doing here Shinji?"

"Uh," Shinji said, a bit startled by Touji's sudden change in countenance. "I told you. I overheard some of the nurses talking and—"

"No, no," Touji said, waving his hand. "I mean what were you doing at this hospital? Don't they have that special NERV hospital for you pilots?"

"What? Oh, yes, but they transfer us back to the normal hospital when they're sure that we are fine."

"You know, I'd give anything if I could get Rei transferred to that hospital," Touji said suddenly, showing Shinji that he really hadn't forgotten it. They both walked in silence as they checked out of the hospital and stood outside of it, looking at the streets.

"Shinji, could you do me a big favor?" Touji suddenly asked.

"What? Oh. Sure, anything," Shinji said as he looked at Touji.

"Could you come and visit Rei sometimes?" he said, still looking out at the empty night streets of Tokyo-3. "Because right now, I'm the only one who visits her. My dad and grandfather have to be at work all the time, and they've seen her maybe once or twice since she was brought here."

"Of course I will," Shinji said. "It's the least I can do, after all, it is my fault that she ended up here anyway."

"Nah, it's not," Touji said, slinging an arm around Shinji's shoulder. "It could have been a lot worse if you hadn't piloted, you know? After seeing you in that entry plug…" Touji shivered. "I'm telling you, it takes guts to get into one of those things. Don't think I could do it."

Suddenly a loud screeching noise erupted. Car tires were squealing as something fast approached them. Suddenly, the blue blur did a 720 before screeching to a stop, and the two boys suddenly found a very grumpy looking Misato hanging out the window of her car.

"Shinji! Where the hell have you been! I was worried sick when you didn't come home from the hospital," she raged as she slowly exited her car, seeming to grow in size to the two boys, towering over their heads and sprouting fangs.

"Whoa," Touji whispered to Shinji. "Is she normally like this?"

Shinji turned his head to look at Touji, "Well, it's worse when she wakes up, doubly so when she has a hangover."

Touji started to wonder when he felt Shinji shiver beside him. Of course he thought Misato was a babe, but he wasn't sure if he would want to put up with the creature that towered before them every morning.

"Shinji! I want an answer now!" the dragon roared.

"I was visiting Touji's sister in the hospital!" Shinji squeaked. "She got injured the first time I piloted the Eva, so I went to apologize!"

The dragon deflated and reverted back to Misato so fast that the boys started to doubt whether or not it had even been there at all.

"Well, that's all well and good, and I'm sorry about your sister," Misato said, looking at Touji with sympathy. "But Shinji, please call next time."

"Yes, Misato," Shinji said, bowing his head for a moment.

"So, Touji," Misato said. "You have a little sister, mind if I come for a visit sometime?"

Even if Touji had wanted to say no, being a teenage boy and having a sensual woman before him, it just wasn't possible. "No! You can definitely come!" he yelled. "I mean, Rei would really like it, she doesn't get many visitors."

"Rei?" Misato said confused. "I thought you said your sister."

"His sister's name is also Rei, Misato," Shinji explained it to here.

"Oh? Well, what a coincidence," Misato said. "I wonder how well we'd get along."

"Believe me, Misato," Shinji said, "you'll get along just fine."

"I'll take your word for it," Misato said. "Now get in the car."

Shinji paled. Misato wasn't the world's best driver by any standards. He was sure that she had only been going half her normal speed when she had driven up to them.

"Get in!" she said again, then looked at Touji. "Would you like a ride home, Touji?"

"Ah, no thanks, Misato," Touji said nervously. He had seen Shinji pale, and didn't blame him after seeing Misato pull up. "I can walk."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "Shinji, why aren't you in the car?" She loomed over Shinji and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Wha!" Shinji shouted as Misato dragged him to the car, opened the door, and shoved him before shutting the door and walking over to the driver's side.

"See ya, Touji," she said before opening the door of the driver's side and getting. Shutting the door, she turned the keys and gunned the engine before it had finished starting up, and was soon racing down the road at 140 kilometers per hour.

As soon as Shinji was adjusted to the speed and no longer pressed against the back of his seat. He turned and looked at Misato. "Um, Misato?" he said.

"Hm? What, Shinji?" Misato replied without taking her eyes off the road, for which Shinji was grateful.

"About Touji's sister, is there anyway that she can be transferred to the NERV hospital facilities?"

"You'd have to ask Ritsuko about that, but I don't think that they'll treat just anyone. Why?"

"Well, she was injured the first time I… and, well, I guess I feel responsible for what happened to her." Shinji sighed. "And Touji says that they haven't been able to heel some internal bleeding that she has."

"Well, I'll tell you what, Shinji. I'll talk to Ritsuko about having his sister moved into the NERV facilities, but I can't make any promises."

"Really, Misato?" Shinji asked, smiling. "It would be great if you could do that."

"Well, it is partially my fault too, you know? After all, I am your commanding officer." She grinned at Shinji, just before she swerved out of the way of a large truck, causing Shinji to faint.

* * *

Rei was standing a few paces behind Commander Ikari on one of NERV's moving walkways. Now that she knew that the commander didn't really care at all about what happened to her, she loathed the compulsory time that she had to spend with him. Vaguely she wondered why he had her in his presence so much, but the thought left her mind as she did her best to keep her composure and not glare at the commander for everything that he had done to his son. 

Shinji still puzzled her. She really had no idea why he affected her the way he did. Somehow, he had been able to channel all Rei's feelings from the commander to himself, while enhancing them in the process. She defiantly needed to talk to someone about it, since she had a need to understand her feelings for Shinji, but who? The commander had been the only thing close to a father that she had, but there was no way that she could ever tell him. She didn't know why, but she felt that the commander would disapprove of her feelings for Shinji very, very strongly.

Suddenly the commander spoke to her, without turning around.

"Rei, are things satisfactory?" he said.

"Yes," Rei replied in her usual emotionless voice. "I will be with Dr. Akagi all day tomorrow, and the day after that I will be in school."

She almost had difficulty keeping her voice level and cool when she said that. In all truth, she was looking forward to returning to school much more than spending the day with Dr. Akagi in that tank again. One, because she hated that tank, and two, because at school, she would be able to see—

"And how is school?" the commander asked.

"No problems, Sir."

"I see. That's good."

Their conversation ended, and Rei stepped off of the moving walkway and headed towards NERV's exit.

Fifteen minutes later, Rei was slowly walking towards her apartment. The night pleased her for some reason. She didn't know why, no more than she knew why she had the feelings that she did for Shinji. There was no one out this late at night, and all the streetlamps were on, though it wasn't needed since there was a full moon out tonight.

Rei stopped walking and directed her attention up towards the pale light of the moon. Looking up at the giant sphere in the sky, she felt sorry for it. The moon, while a celestial body just like the rest of the stars, could not emit it's own light. Rather, it had to use the light of the sun to makes its presence known to the earth. _I don't know why,_ Rei thought to herself, _but I feel connected to the moon. Do I reflect the light that Shinji emits back toward him? Is that why he talks to me when no others will? But then, why did he talk to me in the first place, and why was he so worried about me when the fifth angel attacked? Back then, I was… different._

Rei remembered how she had slapped Shinji just before the fight against the fifth angel with regret. How she wished that she had not done so, especially now that she knew that Commander Ikari cared nothing for her. She had ridiculed herself for losing her composure back then, but now she ridiculed her self once more for losing her composer over _that _man. _I must apologize to Shinji,_ she thought, _hopefully he did not hate me for it. Though, he looked so happy to find that I had not died after the defeat of the fifth angel. It must not have caused him to hate me. Still, I feel that I must apologize to him…_

Rei's thoughts were interrupted by the squeal of tires off in the distance. When that had quieted, she faintly heard some indiscernible yelling, which cut off after a short time. Though the noise was faint and didn't last very long, it was enough to make Rei realize that she had been standing there for a while now. She started walking again and headed towards her apartment.

* * *

When Shinji walked into school the next morning, his eyes immediately sought out Rei's desk. He was disappointed to find that it was empty. He hadn't talked to her since she left him to rest at the hospital. He had really been hoping to see her today. However, since she wasn't there, he just walked over to his desk and sat down. 

Asuka was sitting in her desk while talking to Hikari, and they kept glancing back at him. Shinji frowned. He was sure that Asuka was saying something horrible about him. It was really starting to annoy him with all the lies told about him. Luckily enough, Touji and Kensuke knew Asuka enough to know not to trust what she said.

"Yo, Shinji," Touji said, announcing his arrival.

"Hello, Touji," Shinji said to him. He was tempted to tell Touji that Misato was going to see about having his sister transferred to the NERV hospital, but decided against it, not wanting to get his friend's hopes up.

Just then, the teacher walked in, and Shinji was surprised to see that it wasn't their usual teacher.

Hikari stood up and spoke aloud. "Class attention." Everyone stood up and looked at the teacher. "Ok. Sit down."

The teacher started taking attendance. "Well, Ayanami is absent, as usual," he said, causing Shinji to sigh lightly, "and so is Mr. Aida."

Upon hearing that, Shinji looked around the room and noticed that Kensuke was in fact not there. He leaned over to Touji and whispered, "Hey, what's up with Kensuke?"

"Professor Koike is absent today," the teacher said. "Therefore..." Shinji and Touji didn't hear what the teacher was saying, since they weren't paying attention.

"He's in New Yokosuka," Touji whispered back to Shinji, "to see some dumb battleship. A ship called _Myoukou_, or something like that, is in port."

"Mr. Suzuhara!" the teacher suddenly yelled.

Touji leaped from his seat and stood up, trying to hid that fact that he wasn't being attentive.

"Ah! Ye-Yes, Sir!" he shouted.

The teacher came to his desk and handed him several papers. "Will you deliver this document to Miss. Ayanami, after school?" His tone made it clear that it wasn't a request, since teachers do not request.

"Yes, Sir," Touji said as he took the papers from the teacher.

* * *

"What!" Misato yelled when she heard the news. "What do you mean it's gone!" 

"That's just it, Major," Hyuga said to her. "The entire Second Branch is just gone. Wiped off the map. "

"Oh my God," she said as she took in what Hyuga was telling her.

"ADSC and IDSC are going crazy. General Affairs is total chaos."

"What do you think happened over there?" Misato inquired when she was able to speak.

Ritsuko came up behind them and answered as she had an image appear on the monitor. "It's under investigation," she said. "Our only clues are these recon photos from the geo-synchronous satellite. There's nothing else left."

Everyone's eyes were fixed upon the monitor as Maya counted down. "Ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, three, two, one, contact."

The moment Maya finished counting, it looked like a ring was spreading out from the center of the satellite view. The ring, shock wave, or whatever it was, passed over buildings, mountains, trees, and when it was gone, there was nothing left in its wake.

Misato fell back into her chair. "This is horrible," was all that she could say.

"Evangelion Unit Four," Maya said, reading off of a list of damage, "its support group, and all the other facilities within an 89 kilometer radius were completely destroyed."

"Along with thousands of people," Ritsuko said.

"Looking at the time-schedule, it would appear that they were in the middle of installing the experimental S2 Unit, from Germany," Aoba said.

Maya spoke next. "Potential causes range from an insufficient structural integrity, to an error in calculation during the preliminary design stage. That's 32,768 possibilities."

"And that's not mentioning sabotage," Misato put in.

Hyuga was looking at the monitor while the others were talking. "But it wasn't really an explosion, was it?" he said. "It just… disappeared."

After a few moments Ritsuko said, "In all probability, they were swallowed by a Dirac Sea, just as Unit One was."

Misato turned to look at Dr. Akagi. "Then the restored S2 engine is—"

"Gone, along with our hopes," Ritsuko finished.

Misato sighed and propped her head up in her hands. "We're being forced to use things we don't understand."

_Yes,_ Ritsuko thought, _things like the Evas._

Misato sighed again. Things just never seemed to be going right these days. "Makoto," she said to Hyuga. "Be a darling and go get me a beer from the lounge, will you?"

Hyuga turned a shade of red and said, "Yes, Major," before getting up from his post.

"Oh yeah," Misato said as she smacked herself on the head. "I almost forgot." She turned to Ritsuko. "Shinji asked me to ask you this yesterday," she said.

Ritsuko looked up and stared at Misato through her glasses. "Hm? What is it?"

"Shinji wanted to know if his friends sister could be transferred to the NERV hospital and get treatment their. Apparently, the doctors at the regular hospital can't do anything more and they aren't sure if the girl will live."

Ritsuko tapped her pen against her clipboard as she thought for a moment. "What is the name of Shinji's friend?" she asked eventually.

"Suzuhara. Touji Suzuhara."

Ritsuko's eyes lit up like she had stumbled upon a mine full of gold and platinum. "I'll see what I can do," she said levelly before returning her gaze to her clipboard.

"So what'll we do with Unit Three?" Misato asked, wondering at Ritsuko's reaction.

Ritsuko looked up from writing on her clipboard. "It's being shipped here as we speak. The US government doesn't want to risk losing their First Branch as well."

Misato leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Didn't they insist on the right to build Units Three and Four in the first place? And now they're forcing it off on us. They're really pushing it."

Ritsuko looked over at Misato who was sipping from the can of beer Hyuga had just returned with. "Well, you can't blame them, can you? After a disaster like that, anyone would get nervous." She looked back to her clipboard. "We'll handle it."

"And how are you going to handle the test activation? Will you use Rei's Dummy Plug?"

Ritsuko stopped writing, but she had her back turned to Misato, so the action went unnoticed. "I'll decide," she said. "Soon."

* * *

"This is the Dummy Plug prototype," Ritsuko said to the commander as they looked at a red entry plug. "Rei's personal data has been transferred into it, but our current technology can't really digitize a human mind and soul. In the end this is nothing but a pale duplication that emulates the real pilots thinking processes. It's still only a machine." 

Commander Ikari was looking thoughtfully at the entry plug. "It transmits a signal pattern to the Eva. If the Eva believes that there is a pilot and synchronizes, then that's good enough. Load the data into Units One and Two."

Ritsuko looked at the commander, not really expecting her next comment to make any difference. "But we're still working out the bugs, Sir."

"Just do it. It's sufficient," he said before turning and walking away.

"Yes, Sir." She wrote a note down on her clipboard and then followed the commander deeper into Central Dogma.

* * *

Rei heard footsteps approaching. She opened her eyes a crack and peered through the wall of the LCL filled cylinder she was floating in. It was just the commander and Dr. Akagi. She saw the commander walk up and stare at her while the doctor walked over to a control panel. She closed her eyes again. She felt the commander's eyes on her, and it made her uncomfortable. Never before had she felt this way, and it didn't help that she was nude. 

_What is this feeling of uneasiness?_ she thought._ This is different. I never felt this way when the commander looked at me before. I do not like this feeling. I am… uncomfortable. _Despite her thought, Rei remained motionless as she floated in the LCL.

Suddenly the commander spoke to Dr. Akagi, and Rei could hear their voices, though distorted a bit as they passed through the LCL.

"I've delegated the transport of the Unit to the UN," the commander said. "It will be here by the end of the weekend. At that time you will take care of it."

"Yes, Sir. We'll perform the modifications and activation test at Matsushiro," Ritsuko replied to him.

Rei could still fill the commander's eyes on her nude body, but she resisted all temptation to cover herself up or turn away. The commander would know that something was wrong if she changed her normal behavior. She did not like him looking at her.

"And the test pilot?" the commander said after a moment.

"Use of the Dummy Plug not recommended. One of our candidates—"

"—will be chosen as the Fourth," the Commander Ikari finished Ritsuko's words.

"Yes, Sir." Ritsuko was silent for a moment, before saying. "There is one child available whose core can be prepared immediately."

"Then, make it so," the commander said.

"Yes, Sir," Ritsuko said, a hint of jealousy barely audible in her voice. _You still taunt my family even in death, Yui Ikari,_ she thought angrily at Shinji's mother.

"Rei, we're finished now," the commander said.

Rei opened her eyes and replied. "Right," she said, trying not to sound too relieved that the commander would not be staring at her nude figure any longer. The LCL started to drain from the tube. Perhaps she would be able to get to school and be with Shinji. She didn't know why, but she felt an urge to be with him after being stared at by his father. She felt safe with Shinji.

"Let's eat," Gendou said as soon as Rei was out of the tube.

Rei felt utterly disappointed. She wanted to be with Shinji and get away from his father, but she could not refuse the commander. After all, she was expendable, and could be replaced. "Yes, Sir."

* * *

"Stand up. Dismissed," Hikari said, officially starting their lunch period. 

Touji stretched his hands back in the air and yawned. "Yeah, it's lunchtime at last. My very favorite part of the entire school day."

Everyone started taking out their lunches and started eating, when suddenly they were all disrupted by a shout from a certain red-haired demon.

"What! What do you mean you didn't make our lunches!"

Nearly every head turned and fixed on Asuka towering over a cowering Shinji.

"Ah, I didn't have time to cook last night, I had too much homework," Shinji said, holding his hands out in front of him to ward off Asuka.

"Oh you did, did you?" Asuka screamed at him. "And that's your excuse for me having to go without lunch!" She leaned even further over Shinji, and Shinji bent back until people thought that if she didn't stop, Shinji might snap in half.

"Uh, oh," Touji said with his feet on his desk and hands behind his head. "The newly weds are fighting again."

Everyone burst out laughing. Except, of course, for Shinji and Asuka, whose faces started glowing red. They leaped at Touji.

"Oh, shut up!" they yelled at him.

"How could you think I'd ever be interested in this pervert!" Asuka yelled at Touji, while pointing to Shinji.

"What! I'm not a pervert!" Shinji yelled at Asuka.

"You idiot! That's not important right now!" she yelled back at him. They started bickering again.

Touji sighed, thinking that his wonderful lunch period might not turn out as wonderful as he thought.

* * *

"What's with the grim face?" Misato said as she brought Ritsuko some coffee. 

Ritsuko looked up at Misato from her computer. She knew that this moment had been coming. She was going to have to inform Misato of the situation eventually. "Ah, well, it's the Unit Three activation test. We'll be using the Fourth as the test pilot," she said.

Misato's eyes widened in surprise. This was news to her. "The Fourth?" she said. "The Fourth Child has been found?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yesterday."

Misato furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I haven't received a report from the Marduk Institute," she said.

"Don't worry Major, you'll get your report."

"Dr. Akagi," Misato said, looking askance at her friend, "are you hiding something from me, again?"

Ritsuko waved her hand. "No, of course not."

Misato stared at Ritsuko for a second longer while tapping her foot. Finally she relaxed. "Well, okay. So who's the kid?" she asked.

Ritsuko didn't say anything, but instead rolled back from her computer, gesturing for Misato to take a look at the screen.

As soon as Misato's eyes landed on the identification picture, she was temporarily frozen in shock. When she could get the words to come from her mouth, she said, "Your kidding, him?"

Ritsuko nodded again. "Yes. Well, the perspective candidates have to be kept together for their own protection. It can't be helped."

Misato just stared at the screen for a little while longer. "I don't know how to tell them. It's hard," she said. "Asuka will be fine, she's committed to piloting an Eva; and Rei is exceptional, we've never had any problems with her. Shinji on the other hand has gone through some pretty bad phases, even depression. I don't want to expose him to anymore stress."

"I know, but gathering children of this kind is an imperative, it's for the sake of our own survival. You shouldn't—"

"—shouldn't complicate things. Of course," Misato said as she inwardly sighed. She looked at the photo on the monitor again. At that moment, she began to think that she might know how Shinji sometimes felt.

* * *

"Class dismissed." 

Everyone rose from their seats as the teacher spoke these words, relieved to finaly be released from school.

"Bye, see-ya later."

"Hey call me later tonight, okay?"

Touji was sitting in his seat idly as he heard the conversations of the other students passing him as they left the school building. He sighed with relief that the school day was finally over. Swinging his feet off of his desk, he stood up and started gathering his things.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. "Hey, don't forget that you've got bulletin duty this week, Suzuhara," Hikari said.

Touji turned around with a bewildered look on his face. "I've got what?" he said.

"The class bulletin, remember? Your supposed to deliver this to Miss Ayanami," Hikari told him, pointing to a few papers that the teacher had given him earlier.

"Oh, come on," Touji whined. He had other things to do, besides, he couldn't just go over to a girls house. "Who else has duty?"

"It's you and Ayanami this week," Hikari told him patiently.

"It's Ayanami and me? Then I guess I gotta, huh?" he said in defeat. "But, I can't go to some girl's place by myself," he muttered quietly.

Hikari's face seemed to suddenly brighten. "Well, I could go with you—"

However, she was cut off by Touji's shout to the boy packing up behind him. "Hey, Shinji. Walk home with me, will ya?"

"Ah..." Hikari quietly said as she stared at the ground, a bit depressed.

Shinji, meanwhile, was giving Touji the oddest look.

"You know where Ayanami lives, right?" Touji said to him.

Shinji's face suddenly cleared. "Oh," he said. He glanced at Hikari, and was wondering why Touji had asked him to go instead of her, but if he could use this chance to see Rei… "Alright," he said.

Five minutes later, Shinji and Touji were walking down the streets of Tokyo-3.

"Umm, Touji?" Shinji asked tentatively. His friend looked a bit down. Even when he was joking about him and Asuka earlier, he really hadn't been paying any attention. "Is everything alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine," Touji said as they continued walking.

Seeing as that approach really hadn't done anything, Shinji decided to try something else. "Touji, I know that you like Hikari, so why did you ask me to go with you? She obviously was disappointed."

"I thought you'd like the opportunity to see Ayanami," Touji said, still looking far away. "And besides, I have something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" Shinji asked, though he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer.

"About my sister…"

"I asked Misato," Shinji said. "She said that she would see what she can do, but don't try to get your hopes up. She said that she couldn't guarantees anything."

"Well, thanks," Touji said.

They continued walking towards Rei's place in silence.

"You know, my sister really enjoyed you being there yesterday," Touji said suddenly.

"Really?" Shinji said, a bit surprised, though he supposed that he shouldn't be, what with how Touji's little sister had acted.

"Yeah, ever since she was put into that hospital, she hasn't ever been happy. She's cut off from her friends, school, everything that she used to do. She tries to hide it when I come to visit her, but I can still tell," Touji said. "She's always hiding her sadness behind a smile, but yesterday, yesterday she wasn't faking it. She was really happy that someone else came to see her."

"Don't any of her friends visit her as well?" Shinji asked.

"They all moved away after that first angel attacked. They never even knew that she was injured, since their parents moved away practically the next day."

"I see," Shinji said. Since he had started going to school, he had noticed how the amount of students at the school was steadily decreasing.

He looked at Touji out of the corner of his eye. Yesterday, and now today, Shinji was seeing another side of his friend that he didn't know existed. Now that he knew just how worried Touji was about his sister, he couldn't imagine how Touji had been coming to school and not show any signs of his sadness.

"How do you do it?" Shinji asked Touji.

"Do what?" Touji asked as they crossed the streets.

Once they reached the other side, Shinji spoke again. "How do you come to school and not let how worried you are about your sister affect you?"

"I don't know," Touji said. "I guess it's just my way of being strong for her, you know?"

"I wish I was that strong," Shinji said, feeling a bit depressed at how cowardly he was sometimes, even when Rei was in danger. But he had never known Touji to be cowardly, even though he had to worry about himself and his sister.

"Heh," Touji laughed. "I told you last night, didn't I?"

Shinji looked up at Touji. "What?"

"You wish you were as strong as me? I wish I was as strong as you. I can't even protect my own sister," Touji said. "But you, you get into your Eva and protect this city," Touji gestured to the buildings around him, "every time an angel attacks, even though you know how much pain you will have to suffer in order to do it. I told you before, I don't think I could do it."

"I don't think that's it," Shinji said. "Besides, I'm always so scared in there. I'm not brave, or strong: I just do as I'm ordered to."

"But you don't have to, now do you?" Touji said.

"No, I suppose not," Shinji said. "But if I didn't, then everyone—"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Huh?" Shinji said, confused.

Touji sighed, and then looked up at the sky as they continued walking. "Shinji," he said, "bravery isn't about whether or not you're scared. Bravery is about doing things for others even when you know that you are going to suffer. Believe me, I was scared stiff when I saw you inside the Eva, I can't imagine what you must have been feeling."

"But every time I get into the Eva," Shinji said, "I have to force myself to because I'm so scared of the pain."

"But that's just it, Shinji," Touji said, stopping to look Shinji in the eye. "The point is that you are fighting with your fear and you _win_. That's what I call strength, Shinji."

Shinji stood their, thinking about it for a moment. "I… I suppose you're right," he said after a while, brightening. "But I still don't think I'm that strong."

Touji laughed again. "No, I don't suppose that _you_ would, now would you?" Suddenly, he glanced around, noticing where they were. "Are you sure that this is the right place?" He said, glancing around at the rows of old, run down apartment buildings.

"Yup," Shinji said, as he passed Shinji and walked to the stairwell on the side of one of the buildings. "This one," he said as he looked back at Touji.

Touji looked at the building skeptically. "This run down place?" he said. "I didn't think that Ayanami would live in a place like this."

"Neither did I," Shinji said as he climbed the stairs, "but I think she likes it here."

"Huh," Touji said, looking around as he followed Shinji up the stairs. He looked down to the parking lot below. "Hey Shinji," Touji said. "There are no cars down there. I wonder if she's the only one that lives here."

Shinji looked over the railing and down to the ground. "It wouldn't surprise me," he said as he continued his way up the flights of stairs. "In Misato's apartment building, there are only one or two other tenants that live there. I suppose that's why we don't get any complaints," he mused. "Live you said earlier, everyone's been leaving because of the angel attacks.

"Yeah," Touji said as Shinji stopped in front of a door. "Is this it?"

"Yup," Shinji said. He looked down at the mailbox. It was over flowing. _I geuss Rei doesn't check her mail_, he thought. He knocked on the door. "Hey, Ayanami? I'm coming in." He pushed open the door.

"Hey," Touji said as he tried to stop Shinji. "You can't enter a girl's place without her permission."

"Well, we've got no choice. She won't see it if we leave it here," Shinji said as he pointed to the mail slot. "Ah, is anybody home?" he yelled into the apartment. He also listened very carefully for the sound of a shower running. He didn't want a repeat of his first visit to Rei's apartment… well, at least not with Touji here. Satisfied, he walked into her apartment.

"My God!" Touji exclaimed in surprise as they entered the main room of Rei's apartment. "This is a girl's room? Its so… decrepit." He made a face as he saw the condition the room was in. There was trash all over the floor, and stains on the walls, and a slew of other things that he never expected to find in a girl's room.

"Yup," Shinji said as he looked around the room. Noticing the trash at his feet, he bent down. Pulling a trashcan towards him, he started picking up the crumpled papers and throwing them away.

"Hm?" Touji said when he noticed what Shinji was doing. "You shouldn't touch anything. She'll get pissed."

"I'm just cleaning up," Shinji said as he continued to pick up the trash in Rei's room. He didn't want her to have to live in such a dirty place.

"Well, I won't help you do it. It's just not manly," Touji said as he looked up into the air.

"Well okay, but you know," Shinji teased, "Misato hates guys like that."

Touji visibly twitched for a second before folding his arms. "Gr… I don't care! It's my policy, alright?"

"Alright," Shinji said as he continued to pick up the trash on the floor.

Touji looked down at his friend. "You know, now that I think about it, you've changed," he said.

"What?" Shinji said, looking up.

"You, Shinji," Touji said. "The first time I saw you, I really thought you were the world's biggest jerk. I mean, you sure didn't seem like someone, who'd do something for someone else, back then. I guess you were so deep in your shell, that I couldn't see the real you. After how you came to visit my sister, and after walking here today, I can see how wrong I was."

"Hm," Shinji said as he resumed picking up the paper.

Suddenly, they heard the door close. Both Shinji and Touji turned around to see Rei taking off her shoes as she entered her apartment. She had just noticed them and was frozen in the act of taking off one shoe. Eventually, she resumed taking off her shoes and approached the two boys.

"Hi," Touji said a bit awkwardly. "Excuse us."

"What for?" Rei asked.

"We bought you your school bulletins," Touji said, holding out the papers.

Rei took them from him and walked over to put them on the table that held the beaker full of water. As she set the papers down, she noticed that the trash that had been on her floor earlier was now in the trashcan. She stared at the can as she wondered how it could have gotten in there.

Shinji, seeing Rei looking perplexedly at the trashcan, spoke up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I kinda cleaned up. It was just trash, right?"

"Ah," she said, her cheeks turning a faint pink as she looked at Shinji. She was too startled to even remember to hide the blush. "Thank you."

"I've got to go now," Shinji said to her. "Misato will be mad if I come home late again without telling her."

Rei nodded, and saw the two boys off, closing the door behind them.

As soon as the door was shut, Rei went back to her room and looked at the place where Shinji had cleaned up her floor. They had been just trash, but she had never cleaned up her apartment because it wasn't necessary for the apartment to be clean for her to live in it. It would have been more convenient, but it certainly wasn't necessary.

She walked over to her bed and lay down on her stomach, resting her arms on her head. '_Thank you,'_ she thought, _words of gratitude. Words I've never used._ She glanced over to where the commanders glasses case rested, knowing that the glasses were somewhere out on the streets of Tokyo-3 where she threw them. _Not even when I respected him._

She didn't know why Shinji's simple act of cleaning up her apartment had caused her to feel the way she did. She had even forgot to hide her embarrassment, not only in front of Shinji, but in front of Suzuhara as well. _Shinji has done more for me than just cleaning up my room, so why did this event affect me as it did?_ Shinji had saved her life many times, but still, his cleaning up her apartment caused that feeling she felt for Shinji to grow larger than it had ever been before.

_Was it because_, she thought, _the commander had also saved my life? Have I been suspecting Shinji of using me like the commander did?_ She felt disgusted at herself for even thinking of suspecting Shinji of being like the commander. She looked down at the paper. _No one asked him to clean my apartment; he did it of his own free will. Why? Why did he do that for me? He spent his time to make my life more convenient. The commander never did that._

Ever since she had started feeling like she did towards Shinji, the feeling had been growing, steadily, but surely. She wanted to be near Shinji, she felt a tickling feeling in her stomach every time she heard his name, and she had to work contain her emotions when he talked to her. She wanted Shinji.

_I need to find out what this feeling is,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe if I discover that, I can finally be with Shinji like I want to be._ The only problem that remained was how she was going to find out what the feeling was. Perhaps she could find something at school tomorrow.

She nodded to herself. Yes, that was what she would do. She'd ask some of the girls if they had ever experienced this sort of thing and knew what it was. With that set in her mind, she drifted off to sleep, completely forgetting about the identity of the Fourth Child for the time being.

* * *

"Man, you Eva pilots sure are a bunch of wackos, huh?" Touji said once they were on the main street again. 

"Huh?" Shinji said as he looked at his friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, your always so depressed, Asuka is Satan's daughter, and Ayanami is, well, Ayanami." Touji laughed a bit. "What's better is that neither you nor Ayanami seem to know how to act around each other."

"Huh?" Shinji said, feeling a bit more confused.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed it," Touji said, looking a bit astounded at his friend. "I mean, you're the one that is interested in her."

"N-noticed what?" Shinji said, turning red as he quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening.

Touji laughed again. "That blush on Ayanami's cheeks. In all the years she has gone to our school, never once has anyone seen her blush. If I were to tell people, which I won't," he said, suppressing laughter at the look on Shinji's face, "they'd probably believe me insane before believe that Ayanami blushed."

"But I've seen her blush before…" Shinji said as he trailed off.

Touji stopped dead. "You mean this isn't the first time?" he asked incredulously. "Man, you really are dense aren't you?"

"H-hey!" Shinji yelled at Touji. "What do you mean?"

"She also thanked you," Touji said, ignoring Shinji while he speculated. "She's never thanked anyone before. And then there was that thing the other day where she kept staring at you all through school, remember? Kensuke gave you the tape."

"Oh yeah," Shinji said as he remembered the tape sitting on his dresser back home.

"Well, this is my stop," Touji said as a bus pulled up to the bus stop just ahead of them. "See ya, Shinji. You really shouldn't keep Ayanami waiting." He jogged up to the bus and got on.

"Wait!" Shinji yelled as he ran after him. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Touji said as the doors closed and the bus sped away, leaving Shinji feeling very perplexed.

* * *

Gendou Ikari and Kozou Fuyutsuki sat in the train that sped through Tokyo-3 at a speed equivalent to half that of Misato's sedan. A red sunset shined pass the buildings and into the train car in which the two commanders of NERV sat. 

"The city: a paradise made by mankind," Fuyutsuki said he looked out at the city flashing by them.

"Driven from paradise," Gendou said, hunched over with his hands steepled in front of him as they always were, "man escaped to this earthly existence on the edge of death. Created by the weakest of beings, created by the sapience born from that weakness, this paradise is our creation."

"To protect ourselves from the fear death instills, to satiate our beings with pleasure, we created a paradise by and of ourselves. This city surly is such a paradise. A city designed and built to protect us," Fuyutsuki said as he continued to look out the window.

"A city for those who run in fear from the outside world, the world of our enemies," Gendou said with a hint of contempt in his voice.

Fuyutsuki chuckled and looked at the commander, dispelling the somewhat solemn air that had fallen over the compartment. "Of course, cowards do tend to live longer. That's one benefit." He looked back out the window as the train went underground and into the Geofront beneath Tokyo-3. Artificial sunlight came in through the windows now, but he couldn't even tell a difference. "The third New Tokyo, NERV's hidden intercept base, and now the long-delayed seventh construction phase is about to be finished at last. It's almost complete." His expression turned serious again as he looked back at the commander. "Now, about Unit Four's accident, how will you present that to the Committee?"

The commander's expression never changed, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. "With the facts: the cause is unknown."

"But this was a major catastrophe," Fuyutsuki said, leaning towards the commander.

"It was of no consequence to us. The S2 engine sample may have been lost, but the data is still in Germany. This installation and Unit One will be sufficient"

"But the Committee is in a total panic!"

"Of course they're panicked, it wasn't scheduled."

Fuyutsuki leaned back and his serious expression softened once again. He looked at the commander with a smirk. "Yes, SELEE must be busy rewriting their schedules now."

"Incidents not depicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls may occur. This should teach the old men a lesson," the commander said.

Fuyutsuki closed his eyes and rested his head against the back wall. _But will you learn your lesson, Ikari?_

* * *

"The intercept system is completed, and they're not going to have any party for it? NERV has got to be the most inflexible and stifling organization on Earth," Kaji said in mild frustrationas he leaned against the drink machines. 

"Well, it's because of Commander Ikari," said Maya, who was sitting on a bench in front of Kaji with her arms crossed over her clipboard.

Kaji threw away his can and approached the lieutenant.

"And are you approved, too?" he said as he leaned over her.

"I don't think that's pertinent data, Sir!" Maya said as she tried to back away from the man in front of her. "And I'll have to tell Major Katsuragi and Dr. Akagi about this."

Kaji leaned in close. "Not if I cover your mouth with mine," he said, grinning.

"Kaji, how's it going?" came a strained voice.

Kaji looked up, startled and saw Misato standing a few meters away with a vein on her temple popping out. "Oh, well, it's going, I guess," Kaji said to her as Maya tried to hide herself with her clipboard.

"Oh, ah, I have work to do. Excuse me..." Maya said as she shuffled out the door.

Misato watched the lieutenant leave and walked up to the drink machines and leaned on them. "Far be it for me to make judgments on your private life," she said, "but under the current situation, is it wise to be hitting on girls who are under certain chains of command?"

Kaji sat down where Maya had been a few minutes earlier and looked up at Misato. "Who's under who is not your concern," he smirked. "Would you prefer to be hit on?"

Misato had her eyes closed as she responded in a cool tone, "That depends on how you answer this." She opened her eyes and looked at the spy, remembering how she caught him breaking into Central Dogma and was about to turn him in had it not been for what she saw…

_

* * *

A few hours after Kaji had brought a drunk Misato home for Shinji and Asuka to take care of, he had already made his way 2008 meters underground and into Terminal Dogma. He was busy rewiring and reprogramming the access panel to the colossal entrance to Central Dogma. He stood up and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finished his work. Pulling a red key card from his pocket, Kaji prepared to swipe it through. _

_Suddenly he felt a gun pressed to the back of his skull._

"_Hi!" he said cheerfully as he rose his hands into the air. "Feeling better this morning are we?"_

"_I'm sober now, thank you," Misato said to him._

"_I'm glad to hear that," he said, never losing his cool, because Ryouji Kaji doesn't lose his cool_

"_Is this your real profession, Kaji," Misato said to the spy, "or is this something you just do part-time?"_

"_What do you think?"_

"_It would seem to me," Misato said, keeping her gun against the back of Kaji's head, "that there must be at least two Ryouji Kaji's here. One works for NERV Special Inspections and the other would appear to be spy for the Japanese government."_

"_Hm, so you knew," Kaji said, feeling a little bit down._

"_Don't underestimate NERV!" Misato said sternly to him._

"_Was this ordered by Ikari?" Kaji asked her._

"_No my initiative," she said to Kaji's surprise, "but if you stay with this other job, you'll die."_

"_Perhaps not," Kaji said as he shrugged. "Commander Ikari is using me for his own ends, but I am sorry that I've kept this secret from you."_

"_I'll let it pass, repayment for your help yesterday."_

"_I appreciate that, Kaji said, a small smile appearing on his lips. "But you should know that the Commander and Ritsuko are hiding something from you, too." Suddenly he swung down the hand that held the key card and swiped it through the reader. "And this is it!"_

_The massive red door slowly opened, and Misato wasn't prepared for what was inside. _

"_Oh my God... Is it an Eva?" she said, staring at the scene before her. "No! It can't be!" _

_There was a large lake of LCL in front of her. In the center of that lake, stood an enormous red cross, towering at least one hundred meters high. But that wasn't what caught Misato's attention. Crucified on the cross was a giant white figure, impaled by a red lance that twisted so much that it hurt the eye to follow it. Its arms were nailed to the cross, and a giant, seven-eyed mask covered its face. It's legs were gone, cut off, and LCL seemed to be bleeding of the figure and down into the lake. _

"_Yes," Kaji said as he looked up at the Angel. "The key to the Second Impact and everything that's happened since, the starting point of everything. This is Adam." He walked forward, and Misato's gun dropped behind her._

"_Adam? But why is the first Angel here? You're right, Kaji," she said, never taking her eyes off the giant figure. I don't know NERV. I don't know NERV at all."_

* * *

Misato shivered as the memory faded. She had let Kaji get away because of that. Seeing the first Angel bellow NERV had shocked her so much. She had lost almost everything because of that creature. NERV had been hiding things from her, and she wasn't sure how much she could trust them anymore. Besides, now she knew who the Fourth Child was, and she thought that something just didn't smell right. 

"You know the secrets, behind the Marduk Institute and that Adam thing, right?" she said, as she looked at him.

"Er, what secrets?" Kaji said innocently as he looked away.

"Don't play games!" she hissed at him.

Kaji looked back. "Asking for help isn't like you, Misato," he said sternly.

She closed her eyes. "Well I'm asking, Kaji," she said to him. "Something stinks here. The way the Fourth child was found was too convenient. Something funny is going on."

"I'll tell you one thing," she heard him say when she felt something slam against the drink machine next to her.

She was startled when she opened her eyes to find Kaji leaning close to her and staring at her sternly.

"The Marduk Institute doesn't exist," he said to Misato's shock. "NERV is pulling the strings all by itself."

"NERV is pulling the strings? Commander Ikari?" she asked.

"7-0-7 is a good starting place," he told her.

"Code 7-0-7?" she said. She thought about it for a minute, then her eyes widened and she gasped. "But isn't that Shinji's school?"

"Misato," she heard Shinji say.

She glanced over and saw Shinji standing in the hall looking at her. "Y-yes?" she said, startled that he was there, and a bit embarrassed to be found with Kaji leaning over her like that. However, when she tried to push him away, she found that he was calmly leaning against one of the drink dispensers on meter away with his head tilted back as he downed a drink. _How did he—_

"Ritsuko says she's expecting you for a meeting about tomorrow's trip," Shinji interrupted her thoughts.

"Alright, thank you," she told him. She started to walk towards the exit. "I'll see you later," she said to Kaji as she passed him.

"Uh-huh," Kaji replied.

Shinji looked at Misato as she passed him, and then turned to Kaji.

Kaji stopped drinking from his can and looked at Shinji. He leaned over the young pilot. "So can I buy you a drink, Cup-o-Tea?"

Shinji looked at Kaji sternly. "Kaji," he said, "I'm a boy."

Kaji through his head back and let out a laugh. "Oh come on," he said. "My reputation isn't that bad is it?"

Shinji looked Kaji out of the corner of his eye. "I don't know…"

Kaji frowned. "Oh, come on. I was just joking," he said. "What has Misato been telling you?"

"Nothing," Shinji said. "I happened to run into Lieutenant Ibuki on my way here. She was cursing you."

"Oh…"

Kaji went silent for a moment. "Come with me Shinji, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Huh?" Shinji said as he looked up at Kaji, who was walking out the door.

Kaji looked back. "Well," he said. "What are you waiting for?"

Shinji hurried after him.

* * *

When his fit of laughing subsided, Shinji collapsed on a bench. He and Kaji had been walking around the inside of the Geo-front for sometime now, and Kaji had been telling jokes, most of which Shinji had found irresistibly funny. 

Spotting a vending machine, Shinji said, "I think I'll take you up on the offer of that drink, Kaji."

Kaji smiled. "Now that's the spirit he said as he bought Shinji a drink and gave it to him.

Shinji popped open the can and starting drinking it as Kaji sat down on the other end of the bench. "I thought you'd be a more serious person, Kaji," he said.

"You're saying that to someone as straight-arrow and reliable as me, Mr. Ikari?" Kaji said roughly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shinji said.

"I'm sorry too," Kaji said. "I didn't mean to sound, rude. Hey, I want to show you something."

"Huh?" Shinji said as he saw Kaji stand up and walk through a bit further down the path. Shinji jumped up and ran after him. "Hey! Where are we going?"

Shinji suddenly saw Kaji stop by a small garden. Kaji was looking at the little green spheres growing on vines fondly. "You grow melons?" Shinji said as he came up beside the man.

"Yeah," Kaji chuckled. "Aren't they cute? This is my hobby, but keep it a secret, okay?"

Shinji grinned. "Yeah, I wonder what people would think about the cool Kaji growing melons."

Kaji laughed a little. "Making something grow is really great, though," he told Shinji as he looked at his garden. "One can see and learn so many things from the process. It also brings pleasure."

Shinji looked at a small melon that was turning brown. "But pain too, right?" he said as he looked at the decrepit fruit.

Kaji turned and looked at Shinji. "Do you hate pain?"

"I don't like it," Shinji said as he looked at the melon in pity.

"Ah, but have you found what gives you pleasure?"

Shinji turned and looked at Kaji. _What gives me pleasure? _he thought. Unbidden, an image of a girl came to his mind. _Rei…_ "Maybe," he told Kaji.

"Then it's not so bad, is it?" Kaji said. "If you've known pain and hardship, it's easier to be kind to others. Being kind isn't a weakness. And for you, Shinji, I think it will help you to find what it is that gives you pleasure."

"But I'm selfish, I'm only kind so I don't get hurt," Shinji said, looking away.

"Oh? So are you telling me that you wouldn't care if your friends were suddenly killed in the next angel attack, or even the whole city for that matter?" Kaji said as he looked at the young boy.

"I would care!" Shinji shouted. "Why would I pilot the Eva if I didn't?"

Then Shinji fell silent when he saw Kaji smirking at him. He had fallen into the trap.

"You see what I mean, Shinji? Not only do you care about people, you're brave enough to risk your life for them every time there is a threat. You're a great person, Shinji," Kaji told him.

Shinji just stood there. That was the second time today someone had praised his bravery. He smiled. "Thanks, Kaji," he said.

Before Kaji could answer, his phone rang. "Hello, yes?" Kaji said as he answered the phone. After a few seconds, he hung up and turned to Shinji.

"It's Katsuragi," he said. "The sync-test will be starting soon. You should get over there soon, Misato can get pretty scary if you're late."

"You don't need to tell me that," Shinji said as he started jogging back to the entrance of the black pyramid that was the soul building on the ground of the Geo-front.

"Oh, Shinji!" Kaji called out to him.

Shinji looked back at him.

"I really meant everything I said, and if you ever need any advice on anything, you can come and talk to me!"

Shinji looked at Kaji for a moment and then smiled. "Alright!" he yelled before turning back and continuing his way to the sync-test.

* * *

Ritsuko stared at the monitor showing each Child's sync-ratio in confusion. She had expected Shinji's sync ratio to drop because of the last incident with the angel. What she was seeing on the screen was the complete opposite of that. 

"This is odd," she said. "Shinji's sync-ratio has risen by two points."

"Well, that's good isn't it?" Misato asked as she looked over Ritsuko's shoulder.

"Yes, but after what happened to him last time he was in an entry plug, I would have expected his sync-ratio to have dropped by at least five points, if not more."

"Why would that have changed his sync-ratio?" Misato said, confused.

"The Children's sync ratio is largely determined by events that have happened to them," Ritsuko started explaining as she pressed a few keys on a keyboard, brining up new graphs for her to study. "While the Children have an innate skill for syncing with the Eva's, their sync-ratio is determined by their mental stability. The less mentally stable they are, the harder it is for them to sync."

"Well, Shinji seems pretty mentally stable to me," Misato said.

Ritsuko shook her head. "You should know better than anyone how prone Shinji is to depression. That is in part mental instability. When we examined him after he came back from the Eva, he was very emotionally shaken. How would you feel if you had been stuck inside an Angle for fifteen hours with now way of escape, knowing that if you aren't saved, you'll suffocated in the congealed LCL? Something like that shouldn't heal easily, especially for Shinji."

"I see what you mean," Misato said as she leaned against a control panel. "But if that's true, then why is Shinji's sync-ratio higher?"

"I don't know, but if I'd have to guess, I'd say that something happened since the incident that boosted his self-confidence. Either that, or his will to pilot it outweighs any mental instability that he has."

Misato smiled. "Shinji doesn't like to pilot the Eva, so it must be the self confidence. Shinji really needs all the self confidence he can get," she said. Then she frowned. "However, I think this just makes it even harder to tell him about the pilot. I don't know what he'll do when he learns who it is."

"Well, the new pilot will be informed officially tomorrow."

"Yeah," Misato said as she turned and looked at Shinji on the monitor, wondering how he was going to react.

* * *

Rei entered the school the next morning feeling apprehensive. She wasn't sure why she felt this way, and it was a new experience for her. She didn't like the feeling either, just the prospect of revealing what she felt for Shinji to another person made her feel uneasy. Shinji seemed to be having more effect on her than she had thought. 

She was sitting at her desk now, but instead of staring out the window as she normally did, she was now scanning the room for possible people to talk to about what she felt. That wasn't the only thing she was doing, she was also watching the door for any sign of Shinji.

The time for starting school was nearly at hand, and Rei was feeling a bit discouraged since Shinji hadn't come to school yet. She hoped that he wasn't sick. That made her worried for some reason, she realized.

She glanced around the room again, and her eyes rested on Touji and Kensuke. They were Shinji's friends, and they might know where he was and why he wasn't here. She stood up and approached them.

"Suzuhara," she said, causing Touji and Kensuke to suddenly leap from their chairs. They weren't the only ones who had a reaction to Rei's actions either, as the entire classroom had gone deathly quiet. Rei Ayanami never speaks unless spoken to, and everybody was now sure that it was the sign that some impending disaster was upon them all.

"Aida," Rei continued as she addressed Kensuke. "Why is Ikari absent?"

"Ah, Misato said that he'd be a little late this morning," Touji told her.

Rei nodded. "I see." She returned to her desk and sat down.

The entire class began buzzing with conversation. Rei Ayanami had asked why Shinji Ikari was not at school. Did she have feelings for him in anyway? No, that couldn't be. This was cold Ayanami they were talking about. But she had asked about him, speaking without being spoken to. She must have just been wondering because he was an Eva pilot, that was it. But Shinji always talked to her, so maybe he had broken through her icy shell.

Everyone's thought processes were interrupted as a sudden eruption was heard, announcing the arrival of the two other Eva pilots.

"Shinji you idiot!" Asuka screamed as she chased Shinji into the room.

"I'm sorry Asuka!" Shinji said as he covered his head and tried to get away from her.

"I'll get you for this you pervert!" she screamed at him.

Shinji suddenly found himself in a corner. "It was an accident! Besides, you're the one who tripped me!" he tried to defend himself.

"Yo, Shinji!" Touji said to the cowering figure in the corner. "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you what he did," Asuka said, raging. "He groped me, that's what!"

"I didn't!" Shinji said. "You tripped me and I fell on top of you! It's not my fault!"

"Oh, and so you expect me to believe that it was just a coincidence that you landed on me?" she demanded.

"Yes!"

"I believe Ikari is right," Rei said.

Everyone blinked.

Somehow, Rei had moved between Asuka and Shinji without anybody noticing.

"Hah!" Asuka said, recovering from her shock of having Rei suddenly appear in front of her. "What would you know, Wondergirl?"

"I know that you constantly blame things on Ikari that are not his fault," Rei said, standing in front of Shinji.

"Well you can't accidentally grope someone!" Asuka retorted.

"Yes you can," Rei sad, and Shinji couldn't be sure why, but he had an odd sense of foreboding.

"Oh yeah? How?" Asuka said, folding her arms and looking at Rei. She was getting annoyed at the defiance the First Child was showing her.

"I knocked over Ikari at my apartment," she said.

Shinji groaned; every eye was fixed on him.

Asuka was speechless. Her mouth was hanging open as she looked from Shinji to Rei. "Wha… you mean you... and her... and then… SHINJI YOU PERVERT!" She leapt for the Third Child.

Only knock Rei over and onto the floor. She had stepped in front of Shinji so Asuka wouldn't hit him.

"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled as he scrambled over to her. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine, Ikari," she said as she stood up.

Then he turned to Asuka who had already gotten up off the floor and was glaring at him. "Are you okay, Asuka?" he asked.

"I'm fine, pervert. I can't believe you," she said, turning away from him.

"Asuka! It was an accident!"

Shinji was about to defend himself some more, but then the teacher walked in. Hikari stood up and told everyone to get to his or her seats. Then they went through the morning routine of standing and bowing, before the teacher finally started to lecture them.

However, no one was listening to the teacher's lecture, since they were all discussing this morning's events. Not only had Ayanami defend Shinji against Asuka's accusations, but she also jumped in the way of the red head when she leapt at Shinji. This was not normal Ayanami behavior. Not only that, but it seemed that Shinji had groped Ayanami before. No one was taking any mind of the fact that she had said it was an accident. Shinji was covering his head and groaned as he heard all the conversations around him.

"Hey, Shinji," Kensuke said to him.

Shinji looked up and saw his friend turned around in his seat with Touji and they were both staring at him.

"Yeah, Shinji," Touji said. "What else have you been hiding from us?"

"What?" Shinji said.

"You and Ayanami," Kensuke said, gesturing to the window. "Why didn't you tell us you had gotten this far with her?"

"What!" Shinji yelled, but the teacher paid no mind, and kept lecturing on about Second Impact, though every eye in the class was once again drawn to him. All except two, since Ayanami was staring out the window and Asuka seemed determined to ignore him out of existence. "I haven't! That was an accident!"

"Sure," Touji said. "We know you've liked Ayanami since…" he paused to think.

"Forever," Kensuke said for him.

"And besides," Touji said, "Ayanami must like you as well."

"Why?" Shinji said.

"Well, she blushed yesterday and thanked you," Touji said.

"She did what?" Kensuke said in astonishment. "Man, did I miss some important things while I was gone. I should have been there with my video camera."

"And then there was what just happened," Touji continued. "He defended you against Asuka and took a hit meant for you. Now what do you say to that?"

"I don't know," Shinji said, still unsure. He couldn't think of why she would like him, but still, the prospect that she might made him happy.

"If you really haven't gotten that far with her—"

"I haven't!"

"—then you'd better confess to her soon," Touji finished.

"But…"

"No buts!" Kensuke said. "We'll give you some backbone yet!" he said.

"Yeah!" Touji said, thrusting his arm up into the air. "And if worse comes to worst, we'll force you to confess to her!"

Shinji put his head back down on the table and groaned. He could tell that between his two friends and Asuka, he was going to be in for one hell of a rough time.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone says anything about the fact that Touji's sister is supposed to be in the second grade, I know that. For reasons that have yet to be revealed, she is eleven and in 5th grade in my story. 


	6. Chapter 6: Improbable Events

**Chapter Six**

"Everyone stand up. Dismissed," the class president said to everyone as lunch started.

Touji threw his hands up in the air. "Alright, lunchtime!"

As one, Touji's and Kensuke's heads snapped around and starred at Shinji, their eyes shining with malevolence.

Shinji groaned.

Suddenly, chimes floated throughout the room as an announcement came over the intercom. "Touji Suzuhara," a female voice said, "report to the Principal's office."

"Huh," Touji said as he looked up and the speaker. "What?"

"What did you do now?" Kensuke said to him.

Touji had a perplexed look on his face. "Ah, I don't know," he said after a moment. He slowly stood up and out of his chair, and walked towards the door.

Hearing a small sigh emit as he passed Shinji's desk, he stopped, bent down, and whispered to Shinji, "Don't think that you're off the hook." Then he turned and looked at Kensuke, giving him a silent message. Kensuke nodded and grinned evilly at Shinji's desk. His work done, he continued on his way.

Shinji cowered in fear from the advancing Kensuke as Touji stepped through the door.

Outside in the hall, Touji idly wondered why they were calling him to the office. He hadn't done anything that should have gotten himself into trouble, so that couldn't be it. Maybe his increasingly bad grades were finally horrid enough to draw the teachers' attentions. Well, it wasn't his fault they were bad. After all, who could listen to that old teacher droning all day and still learn something? He was highly of the opinion that, since it was a teacher's job to help him learn, if he failed, the teacher was obviously not doing his job correctly.

Then a darker thought came to his mind: his sister. What if something happened to her?

Touji picked up his pace as he headed to the Principal's office.

_It can't be that,_ he thought. _She was just fine yesterday._ Touji was in a panic. If his sister died, he didn't know what he'd do.

Reaching the door to the principal's office, he stopped abruptly. He didn't move a hand to open the door, but rather just stood their, breathing heavily. He desperately wanted to know if his sister was all right, but as long as he stood outside the door, there was nothing to say that this involved his sister. If he went in there and they told him, then it would. Touji just stood there, feeling the fear in his stomach. Finally getting hold of his resolve, he reached out and opened the door.

"Excuse me," he said as he stepped inside. "I'm Touji Suzuhara."

"You're Touji Suzuhara?" a voice said.

Touji looked around the room. The principal was sitting at his desk and was looking at Touji; however, the principal wasn't the one who had spoken. Standing before one of the two chairs that resided in front of the principal's desk was a woman. She had blond hair, meaning that she must have dyed it, and was wearing a lab coat. She looked to be about Misato's age, but Misato was exceedingly more beautiful in Touji's opinion. This woman had a mole above her lip, and she was staring at him. However, what caught Touji's attention wasn't the woman or even the mole, but the badge she was wearing, showing bright red, half maple leaf with the letters NERV clearly visible.

"Yes, I am," Touji said, standing at the door. "Uh, why am I here, exactly?" he asked.

"We'll get to that in a minute," the woman said. She gestured to the other chair in the room. "Please, have a seat."

Touji hesitantly walked towards the seat before sitting down. He looked back and forth from the principal to the woman, utterly confused at what was going on.

"Touji Suzuhara, I am Dr. Ritsuko Akagi," she introduced herself.

"Oh," Touji said, still unsure of what was happening. "Shinji's talked about you."

"I'm delighted to hear that," Ritsuko said before quickly changing subject. "Mr. Suzuhara," she said, "part of the reason I'm hear is about your sister—"

"What! What's wrong with her?" Touji yelled as he leapt up from his chair, his worst fears realized. "Is she alright?"

"Calm down, Suzuhara," Ritsuko said to him. "Your sister is perfectly fine."

Touji sighed with relief and slowly sank back down into his chair.

"Now," Ritsuko said to him, "Miss Katsuragi has informed me that you wish for your sister to be transferred to NERV's special hospital. Is that correct?"

Touji's head snapped up and he stared at Ritsuko. Was this possible? Was his sister really going to be transferred to the NERV hospital? He couldn't believe it. It seemed almost good to be true. Touji nodded vigorously; however, he had a feeling of uneasiness in his stomach. He felt that something was wrong here.

"As you probably know," Ritsuko began, "NERV is vital in safe-guarding the world from the angels. Regardless, the budget allotted to us by the UN is still very small. We are barely able to keep the Eva's in condition with the money we are allowed. In addition to treating the pilots to any injuries that they may receive during battle, there is really no money to spare."

Touji looked down at the floor. He could tell where this was going. There just wasn't enough money to get his sister to the hospital. "So you can't help my sister," Touji stated flatly towards the floor.

"I didn't say that," Ritsuko said.

Touji looked up at her. "Excuse me, ma'am?" he said, not quite sure what she was talking about.

"There is a way that we can have your sister transferred to NERV's hospital. That is, if you render a certain service to us," Ritsuko said to him.

Touji looked at the ground and stared hard at the tiling for quite some time. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like what it was that he was going to have to do, but if his sister could be transferred to the hospital in return…

Touji clenched his fist and looked up at Dr. Akagi.

"What do I have to do?" he said.

Ritsuko smiled.

* * *

Shinji was breathing hard and had himself pressed up against the wall. He could hear the approaching footsteps and did his best to become invisible. He didn't know what he would do if Kensuke found him. 

As soon as Touji had left the room, Kensuke had approached Shinji's desk. Shinji, with his head down on the desk, didn't notice him until he was right in front of Shinji. Feeling a tap on the shoulder, Shinji slowly looked up into the smiling face of Kensuke Aida.

Shinji had never been more scared in his life.

There was a maniacal quality to the smile that Kensuke wore that didn't normally show itself, and his eyes gleamed with malicious intent. As soon as Kensuke opened his mouth, Shinji had leapt from his desk and bolted for the door. As soon as Kensuke realized that the seat before him was empty, he dashed off after Shinji, still smiling. Now Shinji had himself pressed against the wall as desperately tried to hide from the approaching Kensuke, who would round the corner at any second.

Shinji's eyes darted around the empty hallway, looking for someplace, anyplace that he could hide. There was no place to hide. Shinji cringed in anticipation for the feeling of utter doom that he knew would descend upon him when Kensuke found him.

The footsteps came closer, and someone rounded the corner.

"Rei!" Shinji shouted in surprise with his eyes wide. He had been so sure that it had been Kensuke around that corner.

Rei stood there and looked at him. A light blush began to appear on her cheeks. She had not anticipated this meeting with Shinji; though that didn't mean that she was ungrateful for the encounter. Aside from that, he had just used her first name. He had never used her first name before, and she suddenly found that she liked hearing him say her name.

Shinji was a step behind Rei in realizing what he had done. As soon as he did, he leapt back from her and bowed deeply. "I-I'm sorry!" he said as faced the ground.

Rei recovered her composure, which she was beginning to find almost impossible to do in front of Shinji recently. "I do not mind, Ikari," she said.

Shinji was relieved and he stood back up. "I thought you were Kensuke. I'm glad you're not," he said with a sigh.

Rei looked confused. "I thought that Aida was your friend," she said.

"Well, he is," Shinji began to explain. "It's just that, right now, he is trying to get me to—" Shinji abruptly stopped talking when he realized what he was about to do.

"Trying to get you to do what, Ikari?" Rei pressed.

"Uh…" Shinji began to sweat. He had done it now. If he didn't come up with an excuse soon, he didn't know what he would do.

"Hey! Shinji! There you are!" a voice said from behind him.

Shinji's head whipped around and he saw Kensuke at the other end of the hallway, jogging up to him. He panicked and let out a yell of surprise.

"I've got you now!" Kensuke said, being uncharacteristically like Touji. Probably the prospect of getting Shinji to confess on film had supercharged Kensuke for the moment. Just as he was about to reach Shinji, Rei stepped out from behind Shinji and stood between him and Shinji. Kensuke skidded to a halt. "Ayanami!" he yelled out in surprise.

"I do not believe that Ikari wishes to see you at the moment," she told him sternly.

Kensuke grinned at his good fortune. Raising his camera up, he moved the switch and put it into camera-mode. "Why good afternoon, Ayanami!" Kensuke said cheerfully. "Did Shinji tell you, by any chance, why I've been chasing him from one end of the school to the other and back?"

"I believe that Ikari was about to," she told him.

"For some reason," Kensuke said as he began looking through the viewfinder, "I doubt that."

"If it is his wish to tell me, then he will. If it is not, then he will not. Either way, what matters is that he does not wish to see you right now," she told him.

"Oh, this is priceless," Kensuke said as he filmed the unusual behavior of Rei Ayanami. "I could get a fortune for this!"

"I don't think that you should be filming Ayanami, Kensuke," Shinji spoke up from behind her.

"Oh?" Kensuke said, taking his eye from the viewfinder and looking directly at Shinji. "Getting jealous, are we?" He immediately swung the camera's lens in the direction of Shinji's face, and grinned with the results he was seeing. Shinji was desperately trying to say something, but his tongue seemed unable to form the words.

"Jealous?" Rei said, confused. She didn't know why Shinji should be jealous, but that wasn't why she was confused. For some reason, the whole prospect of Shinji being jealous that Kensuke was giving her undue attention made her feel good.

"Oh yes," Kensuke said.

Shinji's head snapped up and his eyes locked on Kensuke's grin. He was vigorously shaking his head and waving his arms about wildly behind Rei, so she couldn't see him.

"Ayanami," Kensuke continued, "did you know that Shinji is—mmph!"

Kensuke's revelation to Ayanami was cut short when he found a hand covering his mouth.

"Well, uh," Shinji said, holding a struggling Kensuke as still as possible while preventing him from saying anything. "I think that Kensuke and I need to be somewhere right now."

"Were you not just trying to avoid Aida, Ikari?" Rei said.

"Uh…well, yes," Shinji stuttered, "but it's fine now." He started dragging Kensuke back down the hall. Muffled screams were coming from beneath Shinji's hand. "I'll see you later, Ayanami." Shinji said to her as he rounded a corner at the other end of the hallway.

Rei just stood there, staring after Shinji. She felt that feeling in her chest once again. She had intended to ask some of the other girls about what the feeling was when she ran into Shinji just now. Now that Shinji was gone, she needed to ask someone before lunch ended, since she hoped that Shinji would walk home with her. She started down the hall.

_Maybe I should ask the class president…_

* * *

"Oh, thank God!" Kensuke said when Shinji uncovered his mouth. "Air! Sweet, precious air!" Kensuke ran to the fence on the rooftop and began taking big gulps of air. 

"I'm sorry," Shinji said in reflex. Then he remembered why he had cut off his friends air supply by covering his mouth. "What were you doing?" he yelled at Kensuke.

"Huh? What?" Kensuke said, still trying to take in as much air as possible.

"Why were you going to tell her that!" Shinji yelled again.

"Oh," Kensuke said. He turned from the fence and looked at Shinji. "It would have forced you to confirm it," he said. Then he looked down at his camera. "And I could have caught it on tape, too," he said under his breath.

"But… but… but…" Shinji stuttered, trying to think of something to say. "You didn't even give me a chance to tell her myself!"

"Shinji," Kensuke said giving him a depreciating look. "You and I both know that you will never confess to Ayanami on your own."

"I would to!" Shinji said, feeling a bit upset. "When Touji said that you guys would force me to confess, I didn't think that you'd mean this soon."

"Well, I wanted to get it on tape." Kensuke said, and Shinji's mouth dropped. "If you went and confessed to her on your own, how would I ever document such a historic event?"

"You mean," Shinji said when he recovered himself, "that if Touji had been here, I wouldn't have had to go through this?"

"Probably," Kensuke admitted.

Shinji groaned.

When he looked back over at Kensuke, he saw the boy looking as if he were planning out the next way to put Shinji through horrible embarrassment. Shinji's mind raced. He needed to distract Kensuke long enough for the lunch period to end and get back to class.

"So, uh, how was your trip to New Yokosuka?" he asked.

Kensuke blinked, and then started talking in an excited voice. "Oh, it was way cool. Speaking of which, I did pickup some disturbing information," he told Shinji.

"Disturbing information?" Shinji asked, relieved that he had distracted Kensuke for the moment.

"Yeah," Kensuke said. "But if you want to hear it, you need to tell me all you can about Evangelion Unit Three."

"Huh?" Shinji said, confused. "Eva Unit Three?

"Yeah," Kensuke said, barely containing himself. "The one they built in the US. It's been completed hasn't it?"

"I don't know," Shinji said truthfully.

"I know it's classified," Kensuke said desperately, "but come on, you've got to tell me something!"

"But I really don't know!" Shinji told him. "I didn't even know that there was a Unit Three."

"Haven't you heard the rumor that the activation test will be held at the Second test facility in Matsushiro?"

"No I hadn't." Shinji shook his head.

"Then the pilot hasn't been chosen yet?" Kensuke said with excitement in his voice.

"How would I know?" Shinji said, not feeling the least surprised that he didn't know about these things, even though he worked for NERV and Kensuke didn't.

"Misato could choose me for the position!" Kensuke said with stars in his eyes as he looked up at the sky. He suddenly spun around and knelt at Shinji's feet with his hands clasped. "Shinji, would you ask her for me? I really want to be an Eva pilot!" he begged.

Shinji was taken aback, though he supposed that he shouldn't be surprised. Kensuke was always so ecstatic about the Evangelion and really any military creation. Ships, planes, tanks; he loved them all, but the Evangelion rested at the top of his list. Shinji looked down at his friend and told him truthfully, "I don't know if she could or not. I don't really think she has a say in choosing the pilots."

Kensuke stood up and frowned for a moment. Then he shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped. Maybe I'll get lucky." Then he looked at Shinji. "Well, what about the story that Unit Four was lost?"

"Was lost?" Shinji said, even more confused now that there was a Unit Four that had now entered the mix.

"You really didn't know? It's the disturbing information that I was talking about. Unit Four disappeared along with the entire Second branch. My dad's whole section was in a panic."

"Are you sure?" Shinji said. It sounded a bit unbelievable, but he supposed that fighting giant Angels out to destroy humanity also sounded a bit unbelievable as well. He just wasn't sure what could happen anymore.

"I've got my sources," Kensuke said with a triumphant smile. Shinji took this for meaning that he had hacked some communications meant for NERV.

"Misato didn't tell me anything," he told Kensuke.

"Ah... Well you know, I guess it doesn't directly concern the pilots. If she didn't tell you, it's probably because you don't need to know," Kensuke said nervously, and Shinji wondered just how classified the communications had been. "I'm sorry about bothering you with all these weird questions." He looked around. "Hasn't Touji come back yet?"

Shinji stiffened, thinking that Kensuke was about to remember that he had been chasing Shinji all across campus for most of the lunch period. Luckily, that didn't happen. It seemed that Kensuke was now deep in thought of how to get himself picked as the pilot of Unit Three.

Shinji sighed with relief. He hoped that Touji got back before Kensuke did remember. He was a bit surprised at how far Kensuke would go to get some good footage.

"Hey, Shinji," Kensuke said, slowly turning to him.

"What?" Shinji said slowly, feeling uneasiness form in the pit of his stomach. He paled when he saw the grin on Kensuke's face. Shinji ran away screaming. He was gone before Kensuke had gotten anything out.

Kensuke frowned. "What did I do?" he asked himself. "I was just going to ask him to put in a good word for me with the people at NERV." He walked off, mumbling to himself.

* * *

Asuka was fuming. 

She hadn't gotten over this morning yet. She couldn't believe that Shinji had checked to see if Ayanami was all right before her. What had that doll ever done to deserve Shinji's care that she hadn't? Asuka even lived in the same house as him, and yet he still went to Ayanami first. She had even _kissed _him, and he had still gone to her. "I won't loose to a doll like her," Asuka said quietly.

"What was that, Asuka?" Hikari said. She had been trying to get Asuka to calm down ever since this morning, and she wasn't having much luck. "I couldn't hear you."

"It was nothing," Asuka grumbled.

Despite how Asuka normally acted, Hikari had a suspicion that Asuka liked Shinji. It really was the only way to explain how upset she was at the moment. Hikari hated to see her friend like this, so she decided to try something that always seemed to change Asuka's mood.

"I can't believe Shinji, can you?" she said. "I didn't think that he was that big of a pervert." Of course, she didn't believe a word of what she was saying.

Asuka snorted. "That pervert? I can't believe I didn't expect it of him earlier. I've always had to hide myself from him. And then, the other day, when I asked him if he'd been making out with some random girl on the street, he didn't answer right away, and his face completely red. He denied it after I accused him, of course, but I didn't believe him. He must have been doing something." She said, taking out her frustrations on Shinji.

Hikari smiled. This was a much better way to get Asuka to calm down. Normally, she either hurt somebody or kept in locked up inside herself, doing more harm than good.

"Maybe you should try and get him to change for the better," Hikari said gently to her. If she couldn't get Asuka to come out and say that she liked Shinji, she could probably get her to do this without having her admit it.

"What do you think that I've been trying to do?" she asked Hikari. "All my teasing and picking on him has all been geared towards that purpose. Since I met Shinji, he's always been so week and shy," she complained. "He does whatever people expect of him, and that's the only reason he does it. He has no spine at all and is always going around saying 'Oh, I'm sorry.' He's been saying it so much that it's become a conditioned response to almost anything that he does. If he'd stand up for himself once in a while, he might actually be worth something."

"Oh," Hikari said. She looked at her friend. "I'm not sure that's the best way to go about it, Asuka."

"What are you talking about?" Asuka said to Hikari. "Of course it is."

Hikari shook her head. "Asuka, think about it. It hasn't worked yet, has it? Think about Shinji's character. You may give him some courage to stand up for himself if you continue to do this, but I don't think you'll like the results."

"What?" Asuka said, feeling confused.

"Asuka," Hikari sighed, "if you are the one that is teasing him and picking on him, who do you think he's going to stand up against if he is eventually able to stand up for himself?"

Asuka sat there and stayed silent. She had never thought about it this way before; she had just been concentrating on giving Shinji some spine. That was what she wanted; however, if the price was for him to hate her, she didn't know if she wanted to pay it.

"Excuse me, President Horaki," A voice said, causing both girls to jump. They hadn't noticed Rei approach them.

"What do you want, First Child?" Asuka said when she saw who it was.

"I was not talking to you, Pilot Soryu," Rei said coldly back at Asuka.

Hikari was feeling nervous, not only because of the tension that she sensed in the air, but also because every eye in the classroom was fixed on the three of them. After what happened this morning, she couldn't blame them.

Asuka's and Rei's eyes were fixed upon each other. Hikari felt like she was observing a staring match to the death. She didn't think that Rei would do anything rash, but Hikari knew that if she didn't do something soon, Asuka would do something that she probably shouldn't. Hikari stepped between the two girls. "What is it, Ayanami?" she asked.

"I wish to talk to you about a matter that has me confused," Rei told Hikari, not missing a beat.

"What do you want to talk about?" Hikari asked Rei, a bit confused at what might have the girl before her confused, and even more confused that Rei had come to her for help.

Rei's eyes darted to Asuka and then back to Hikari so fast that Hikari wasn't even sure that she had seen it. "I would prefer to speak of it elsewhere," she told Hikari.

Hikari looked at Asuka.

"Go ahead!" Asuka told her, throwing her hands up. "It's not like I wanted to talk to that doll anyway."

Hikari nodded at Asuka and looked back at Rei—and almost fainted. Never before in her life has Hikari seen something so terrifying as the expression that was on Rei's face.

Rei's eyes were narrowed and her lips pressed thin as she starred at Asuka, who was paying her no mind. The expression of hate across her face was one that would have made even Gendou Ikari cower in fear. Asuka might be angry sometimes, but Rei's red eyes added much more effect than Asuka's blue ones ever did. However, it wasn't just the expression that had Hikari frozen stiff, but also the feeling. She felt very uncomfortable, as if something was radiating out from the girl in front of her. The only word that she could put to the feeling was pure hatred, and it scared her. She had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Let's go, Ayanami," she said, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the room. Almost immediately she felt the feeling of radiating hatred dissipate.

Outside in the hall, after the door was closed and she was sure that no one could hear them, Hikari turned to Rei. "What is it that you wished to talk to me about, Ayanami?"

Rei looked at her for a moment. She was thinking of the best way to word this to Hikari. _There is this feeling in my chest that I feel whenever Shinji is near, or whenever I think about him. That is what I wish to ask about. Also, why does it make me act differently than I normally have? Why does my face become flushed with blood whenever Shinji speaks to me? Why is this? That is what I want to ask. However, President Horaki is Pilot Soryu's friend. She may tell her about this. I do not know why, but I do not want Pilot Soryu to know this. I must word this carefully._

"President Horaki," Rei started. "What does it mean when one's face becomes flushed even though one is not ill?"

"What?" Hikari said in surprise. This was not what she had expected. "Well, it probably means that you are embarrassed."

"Embarrassment? What causes it?" Rei asked Hikari, wanting to be sure that it was what she was feeling.

"Well," Hikari said, looking up at the ceiling and tapping her lip. "You can become embarrassed if someone sees you doing something that you would rather them not have, like changing clothes."

Rei shook her head. "I do not believe that is what I am referring to," she said. She never had any trouble with people seeing her change clothes.

"There are other reasons too," Hikari said. She started thinking again. "Sometimes you can become embarrassed when you do something stupid and people laugh at you."

Rei shook her head.

Hikari thought of something else. "You can become embarrassed when you say something that you didn't mean to."

Rei shook her head again.

"Well then," Hikari said, thinking hard. Then she thought of something. "Sometimes you can be embarrassed when you are with someone you like."

Rei looked straight at Hikari. "Like?" she asked.

"Uh, someone you love," Hikari said. This really wasn't the sort of conversations that she'd ever thought she'd be having with Rei.

"How do you know if you love someone?" Rei asked.

Definitely not the conversation she'd thought she'd be having.

"Well," Hikari said, a bit flustered by the way the conversation was going. "It's different for everybody, but I think that there are a few things that everyone experiences." She started to list of examples, putting out a finger as she said each one. "It can make you happy when that person is near, sometimes your heart will start to beat fast when you think of the person, you really want to be with them as much as possible, and you want to do things for them. Oh, and it might make you act different than normal, sometimes making you do irrational things." She held up her hand with all five fingers stretched out. "There are more ways, but I think that these are the most common ones."

Rei just stood there and listened to everything that Hikari was saying. It seemed to match what she felt with Shinji. _Is this true? _she thought. _Could I really love Shinji?_

Rei nodded to Hikari. "You have answered my question," she said.

Hikari's eyes went wide. If that was what answered Rei's question, that could only mean…

"Ayanami," she said. "Do you love someone?"

Rei looked away. Her face was flushed again. She walked towards the room, but stopped just before opening the door. "I do not know," she told Hikari. Even though Hikari's description of love had seemed to answer all of her questions, she still wasn't sure if that was what she felt for Shinji. She would need to ask some more people. When the flush left her face, she opened the door, walked into the classroom, and sat down at her desk.

A dazed Hikari walked in after her and sat down next to Asuka. She couldn't believe what had just happened. The cold, emotionless Rei that had been going to school here since the seventh grade; it just seemed to improbably an event.

"Hello! Hikari!" Asuka said for the fifth time as she waved her hands in front of her friends face.

"What? Oh, Asuka. Sorry," she said when she finally noticed her friend.

"What's up with you?" Asuka said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Nothing," Hikari said. She probably shouldn't tell Asuka about her conversation with Rei.

As if her thoughts summoned it, Asuka asked, "So what did you and the doll talk about?" she asked.

"Ah, well," Hikari racked her brain for an excuse. "She wanted to see my homework since she didn't do hers," she said finally.

Asuka frowned. "That's odd. Wondergirl, the honor student, needing to copy someone's homework?"

Hikari mentally kicked herself.

However, Asuka just shrugged and accepted it. "I knew she couldn't be that perfect. She must always copy it from somebody, or maybe she has someone else do it for her."

For once, Hikari was grateful for Asuka's anti-Rei prejudice.

Suddenly the noise of the door being slid open to the max echoed through the room. Everyone's head, except for Rei's since she was staring out the window, turned to the doorway just in time to see Shinji run in and make a leap for his desk. When he reached it, he scrambled under his desk and curled up in a ball as he tried to hide from Kensuke.

"Shinji! What are you running for?" Kensuke said as he walked in the door, bent over and heaving from chasing Shinji.

Rei turned from the window when she heard Shinji's name, and saw him curled up under his desk.

Hikari was idling wondering what was happening, when she felt Asuka stand up beside her. She looked up at her friend and saw a look of determination on her face. "Asuka," Hikari said. "What are you doing?"

"You said that bullying him wasn't the right way, right?" Asuka said as she left her desk and walked towards Shinji.

Hikari wasn't sure if she could take any more surprises today.

Rei had also risen from her desk when she noticed Asuka approaching Shinji. She didn't want the redhead to hurt Shinji. She started walking towards Shinji.

The moment that Rei had risen from her seat, Asuka had seen it. She picked up her pace, and then Rei did the same. She tried going faster again, and Rei matched speed. Neither girl was looking at Shinji anymore, but both had their eyes fixed on each other. At the rate things were going, there were both going to reach Shinji at the same time.

If the bell didn't just start ringing and the teacher walk in.

"Everyone," the ancient man said, "please return to your seats."

Hikari stood up and repeated the teacher's words.

Both Rei and Asuka stopped and looked at each other before slowly backtracking to their seats.

Shinji, meanwhile, peaked out from beneath his desk, oblivious to the two girls that had been hurtling towards him a moment before. Seeing that everything looked clear and that Kensuke couldn't do anything to him at the moment, he got up and sat in his chair.

Kensuke leaned over to him, momentarily startling Shinji before Shinji realized that Kensuke couldn't do anything during class. "Hey," he said. "Touji isn't back yet."

Shinji looked towards Touji's desk and saw that Kensuke was right. He looked back to Kensuke. "I wonder what they needed him for."

"Don't know," Kensuke said.

* * *

Ritsuko sighed as Touji stood up from his chair. She hadn't been entirely sure that he would agree. She wasn't sure what they would have done if he hadn't, but it didn't matter now; he had agreed. 

The principal had left the room sometime ago, since he already knew what the two were going to discuss and the potential outcomes. Besides, he was always leering at Ritsuko, and she didn't like it in the least. The added bonus was that she could discuss things that she hadn't talked about with the principal, important things.

Important things…

"Mr. Suzuhara," she said as Touji was about to leave.

Touji stopped just as he was about to leave the room. He turned back towards Ritsuko. "What is it, ma'am?"

Ritsuko looked at him for a moment. "I have one last question for you," she said after a while.

Touji looked at her expectantly.

"Have you noticed any recent change in the interaction between Shinji and Rei?" she asked.

Touji looked at her for a few moments, thinking. "I don't think that anything has changed," he told her. Then he turned and left the room.

Ritsuko sighed in the empty room. That was a relief. On top of everything else, she didn't want to deal with _that_. So long as Rei and Shinji didn't change how they felt towards each other, she didn't have to worry. After all, it was very unlikely that Rei would develop feelings for somebody. That just wasn't how she was.

A ringing came from the cell phone in her pocket. Ritsuko reached in and pulled it out. Opening the folded cell phone, she put it to her ear and spoke. "Dr. Akagi here."

"Dr. Akagi, it's Lieutenant Ibuki," a voice said on the other end.

"Ah, Maya," Ritsuko said, smiling. "I've got good news, Mr. Suzuhara agreed to—"

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but we have a situation over here."

The smile vanished from Ritsuko's face, and her tone turned serious. "What is happening over there?"

She heard some shouting on the other end before Maya answered. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I think that you had better come to the command center first."

"I'll be right there," Ritsuko said before snapping the phone shut. She got up from the chair, put the phone in her pocket, and walked out the door.

* * *

Shinji was having a hard time staying awake and listening to the ancient teacher's droning. Judging from the light snoring coming from Kensuke's desk, it seemed that Kensuke had failed miserably in doing the same. 

"Thus we, mankind, survived the hell called Second Impact and rose again," the teacher droned. "The number of children have been decreasing on a year to year basis, and the cause is unknown. For some reason unknown to our scientists, the number of successful conceptions has been failing or resulting in stillbirths more and more. In an effort to preserve the human-race, the marital age was lowered world-wide to fourteen without the consent of a legal parent or guardian; however, the amount of children resulting from such marriages has not been significantly different from others."

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Shinji was jerked awake by the doors sliding open. He looked up from his desk towards the door, and saw Touji standing there.

"Sorry I'm late," he told the teacher.

The teacher nodded to him. "I know about it, be seated," he said before continuing with his lecture. "Anyway, it is you, the younger generation, who will lead the way to the future…"

Shinji tuned out the teacher's lecture and looked at Touji. Something was wrong; he looked very depressed. Shinji wondered what it was that he had been called to the office for. It couldn't be anything good if it made him act like this.

He was about to ask his friend the reason when he noticed that Touji had already gone to sleep. Shinji turned forward again and started listening to the teacher. Had he been more aware of his surroundings rather than barely awake, he might have felt two pairs of eyes on him, one blue, and one crimson.

* * *

"Damn," Ritsuko said as she walked through the corridors of NERV headquarters. She hated it when unexpected things happened, and though she didn't know what was going on, it was unexpected. "What is going on?" she asked as she stepped into the command center. 

Maya looked up from the control panel she was bent over. "Dr. Akagi, you're here."

"Yes, I am," she said impatiently, tapping her foot. "Now tell me what the hell is going on here!"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Akagi," Hyuga said, "but that's what we are trying to find out."

"What?" Ritsuko said as she walked over to them. "What happened?"

"Well, you see Doctor," Maya started explaining. "About twenty-five minutes ago the MAGI detected an angel's signature."

Ritsuko's eyes widened. "Why weren't the pilots notified? Why aren't they in their Eva's!" she said.

"Well that's because, approximately eleven seconds later, the signal vanished completely, before the MAGI could get a lock on it's position," Maya explained.

"So you mean that it's just like the times last week?" Ritsuko asked.

They all nodded.

"Damn it all!" Ritsuko yelled. "What is going on here!"

"In need of Anger Management, Ritsu-poo?" a voice said.

Ritsuko spun around and saw Ryouji Kaji leaning against the doorframe, smiling smugly to himself.

"Kaji, I am in no mood for your antics right now," she said, turning away from him furiously. She hated not knowing what was going on. This was the third time in two weeks. After the last two times, she had run a check on the MAGI to make sure they weren't making mistakes. They hadn't been. After several days passed without incident, she had forgotten about it, but now that it happened again, something had to be happening. She would need to inform the commander about the possibility of a new angel.

"Antics?" Kaji said innocently. "Since when have I done anything that could be remotely considered as antics? I'm a hard working, honest man."

Everyone let out a small laugh at the absurdity of Kaji's claim. He frowned.

"I'm hurt," he said, and then brought his smile back. Walking into the command center, he leaned over the officers at the control panel. "Well, what's been happening that has put Ritsuko into such a fuss?" he asked.

"I am not in a fuss, Kaji. And for your information, another one of those phantom signatures appeared less than a half hour ago," Ritsuko said in annoyance. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

"Do I need a reason to visit my favorite female doctor?" Kaji asked, grabbing her from behind.

Ritsuko quickly flung the flirtations employee off her. "Damn it Kaji! I'm working!"

Kaji was about to reply when he heard a voice on the edge of patience come from behind him. "Kaji…"

"Why, hello Misato," he said as he turned around, grinning at her. "I didn't notice you there."

Misato didn't reply, but instead stood there with a vein twitching in her forehead.

"Misato, did you hear?" Kaji said as Misato opened her mouth to say something. "Ritsuko's chasing ghosts!"

Misato didn't say what she was going to, but instead turned to Ritsuko. "What?"

Ritsuko sighed. "Another one of the phantom signatures has appeared," she told Misato.

Misato's eyes widened. "Is this true?" she asked. "There is another one?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes," she said. "No more than a half hour ago."

"Any idea what they are?" Misato asked.

"None whatsoever," Ritsuko said as she shook her head. "The signatures don't stay long enough for the MAGI to get any information other than that they are somewhere in or around Tokyo-3. I'm going to try and increase the MAGI's speed in locating targets so that next time we might be able to catch it before it vanishes." Ritsuko looked at Maya. "Maya, come with me."

"What? Oh, yes ma'am!" the lieutenant said as she followed the doctor out of the command center, clutching her clipboard to her chest.

"Well, things seem to be doing okay here," Kaji said to the rest of them once Ritsuko and Maya were out of sight. "I'll just leave you all to your duties." He walked out the door.

"Now you just wait a minute!" Misato yelled as she ran after him.

"What is it, Misato?" Kaji said as he stopped in the hallway.

"Like I said yesterday, it's dangerous do be hitting on girls under certain chains of command," Misato said through clenched teeth.

"Jealous, Misato?" Kaji asked. "And here I was thinking that you hated me."

"Don't be so sure," Misato muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry," he told her. "I think that therewere at least two people back in that room that would rather be under their superiors in bed than in duty." He grinned.

"Whatever," Misato said. "I'm not interested in other peoples private lives, unlike some people."

"It's my job, Misato. Do you think I enjoy prying into peoples private lives?"

"Yes." Misato stated flatly.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Kaji trailed off. Then he shook his head. "Anyway, how's Shinji?"

Misato's face softened. "He's the same as always," she said. "A little depressed and lacking in self confidence, but I think that he's been improving lately."

Kaji nodded. "That was the impression I got when I talked to him yesterday. I think he found something that makes him happy, though I'm not sure what. I told him that if he ever needed advice, he could come to me."

Misato smiled. "In that case, I hope he doesn't. God knows what kind of advice you'd give him."

Kaji grinned. "Only the best, Misato. Only the best."

Misato laughed. "Somehow, I don't think that Shinji could do some of the things you might 'advise' him."

"Well, I don't know," Kaji said, looking as if he was contemplating something. "Once he sees my success with the female officers of NERV, he's bound to see the light."

Misato's eyes narrowed. "What success?" she hissed at him.

"Good afternoon, Misato," Kaji said with a grin as he stepped through a door that hissed shut behind him and locked it so that she couldn't follow.

He walked down the hall, listening to Misato's pounding against the door. He smiled sentimentally. "She can't resist me," he said to himself. Then, stopping at a door, he reached into a pocket, and pulled out a newly pilfered security card. "Sorry Ritsu-poo," he said. "I'll return this just as soon as I'm done with it."

* * *

"You did what?" Touji yelled after class had ended. 

"I was just trying to get him to confess… I wanted that priceless material on film," Kensuke said as he cowered below Touji.

"You moron! It's Shinji! If you had done that, he probably never would have confessed!"

"Confess to what?" Asuka said as she passed by them.

Touji and Kensuke looked at the redhead in horror.

"Uh," Touji said, trying to ward off the demon.

"We were trying to get him to go and confess all his sins and get it on tape," Kensuke piped in.

"Yeah," Touji said. "That was it!"

Asuka eyed the two boys suspiciously. She wouldn't put it past Kensuke to try and get Shinji doing that on tape, but she couldn't quite believe that Touji would also be a part of it. However, this isn't what concerned her at the moment. "Whatever," she said, to the two boys' relief. "Where is Shinji anyway?" she asked, looking past them.

"He went to the bathroom," Touji told her. "He should be back any moment."

"Alright then," Asuka said. "I'll wait."

Touji and Kensuke glanced at each other. Something was wrong here; they could feel it. Asuka wasn't acting like Asuka, and it scared the willies from them.

"What do you need him for?" Kensuke asked cautiously. They were on dangerous ground.

"That's none of your business," Asuka told him as she stuck her nose up in the air.

Just then Shinji walked in the door. Upon seeing Asuka, his eyes widened and he hid behind the nearest desk, remembering the events that took place this morning.

"Jeez. What's your problem?" she asked him.

He looked out from behind the desk in surprise. "You're not going to hurt me?" he said.

"No, stupid. Why would I hurt you?"

Shinji felt the fear that had gripped Touji and Kensuke. Something was definitely wrong. Maybe Asuka was sick.

"Are you okay, Asuka?" Shinji asked, a bit worried about her.

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him, putting her hands on her hips. "Would you rather I hurt you?" she said menacingly.

Shinji waved his hands in front of himself. "No, no, no!"

Asuka nodded. "Good." Then she turned around so that no one could see her face. "Look," she said. "I'm sorry about this morning."

Shinji was struck dumb. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that this would ever happen. The same went for Touji and Kensuke, and they just stood there with their mouths hanging open. "What?" Shinji said.

"I said I'm sorry, alright?" Asuka repeated. If anyone were able to see her face, they would see that it was bright red. "I'll see you at home." Then she took off through the door, followed by a stunned Hikari.

"I think I need to go to the doctor," Touji said.

"Why?" Shinji asked confused.

"I think I'm hallucinating," Touji told him. "I just thought Asuka apologized to you."

"She did," Shinji said, still unable to believe what happened.

They were silent and stared at where Asuka had been standing.

"Oh, damn it all to hell!" Kensuke screamed, causing Shinji and Touji to leap several feet into the air.

"What's wrong?" Touji asked when he had calmed himself.

Kensuke looked up with tears in his eyes.

"Kensuke?" Shinji said worriedly.

"I didn't film it…"

"What?" Shinji said, not sure if he had heard right.

"I didn't film it! I was witness to the most improbable event in the history of the world, and I don't have a record of it." He burst into tears again.

Touji and Shinji looked up at each other, and then burst into laughing.

When their laughter subsided, Shinji noted that it was time to leave. He told the other two so.

"I've got cleanup duty," Touji said, "so I'll be late in leaving. Besides…" Touji grabbed Shinji's shoulders and turned him around. "You should walk home with her."

Rei was still sitting in her seat and looking out the window. Shinji looked at her. He really wanted to take her home because it would mean more time spent with her.

"You should confess to her too," Touji said.

Shinji turned around and looked at Touji. "But what if she—"

"Shinji, how can you still doubt it after this morning. Not only that, but Ayanami always leaves right after we are dismissed, right? When was the last time she stayed after school this long, except for clean up duty. You must be the reason."

Shinji looked over his shoulder back at Rei. Then he looked back at Touji. "I'll see," he said, although he knew that he wasn't going to be able to bring himself to confess.

Touji spun Shinji around again and said, "Go for it," before shoving him towards Rei. Then he looked at the crying Kensuke beside him with disgust.

* * *

"Asuka!" Hikari shouted after her friend. "Wait!" She had been chasing Asuka through the school ever since she left the room after apologizing to Shinji. She had been really surprised by what Asuka did. It wasn't something that she, like the boys, ever believed that Asuka would do willingly. Hikari had even suggested that Asuka be nicer to Shinji before today, and she had never taken her advice before now. Besides, Asuka wasn't one to readily admit that she was wrong. Why she suddenly changed her tactic now was a mystery to Hikari, but she wanted to find out. 

Suddenly, she ran into something. When she steadied her self, she found that it was Asuka's back. "Asuka?" she asked.

Asuka was silent for a while, but then she turned around and smiled at Hikari. "Well?" she asked. "Did I do a good job?'

Hikari stared dumb struck at Asuka. "Yes," she said when she recovered herself.

"Good," Asuka nodded to herself.

"Asuka," Hikari said. She was determined to find out what brought about this sudden change in Asuka. "How come you started being nice to Shinji?"

"Well, you told me that he might start to hate me if I continue to try and force him to grow some spine, so I'm going to coerce him into it. He might actually be worth something with a spine, so it would be a waste if he hated me by then," she explained.

"But I've told you that before and you still didn't take my advice. Besides, I thought you were too stubborn to ever apologize to anyone."

Asuka crossed her arms. "Please! I'm not that thickheaded," she said. "Just because I don't like to give up doesn't mean I don't know when to surrender. Besides, the stakes are higher now."

"What?" Hikari said, not comprehending Asuka's last comment.

"Nothing," Asuka said, brushing it aside. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. She wouldn't lose Shinji to _that_ girl.She never once thought that the doll might like Shinji, it was just not possible. What she was worried about was what would happen if the doll unintentionallycaptured Shinji's eye.Inside she was boiling with anger and rage. She hated the embarrassment she suffered from apologizing to Shinji. She really hadn't done anything wrong in the first place. However, Asuka hated to lose. If this was what she needed to do to win, then so be it.

* * *

"Um… Hello, Ayanami," Shinji said nervously. 

Rei turned from the open window and looked up ay Shinji. "Hello, Ikari," she said. She hadn't expected that Shinji would come over to her since he would usually be going home about now. She was going to wait until he left before following him so that she could speak with him; however, she liked this situation more.

Shinji nervously looked over and Touji, who gave him a thumbs up, before Shinji turned back to Rei. "Are you going to be leaving soon?" he asked.

Rei nodded. "Yes, I was just about to," she said.

"Do you… do you want me to walk you home?" Shinji said, his face turning red.

Rei's cheeks turned a faint pink, but Shinji was too embarrassed to notice. "I would like that very much, Ikari," she said. This was much better than following him home.

"Really?" Shinji said, feeling happy.

"Yes," Rei said before standing up. She walked across the room and out the door.

"Ayanami! W-Wait!" Shinji said as he started after her.

As Shinji left the room, Touji nodded in satisfaction. He turned to Kensuke to say something, but he was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, he thought that he saw a shadow slip out the door after Shinji and Rei, but it was gone when he looked. Touji just shrugged and sat down.

A loud noise came from his stomach and he realized that he was starving. He stood up again and headed for the school shop to get some food. He hadn't been able to eat earlier during lunchtime because he was called to the office to speak to that… woman.

Touji frowned as he walked through the hallway before stopping at the shop and purchasing a small snack. He didn't like what she was doing. Touji may only be fourteens years old, but that was plenty old enough to know when things were being used against him. That woman had used his sister against him, forcing him to do something that he didn't want to for her safety. Touji clenched his fist as he walked into the classroom.

Sitting down at his desk, Touji began eating. He hated Dr. Akagi for using his sister like she did. It gave him no choice but to do what she wanted because his sister would get better that way. He really did not like the doctor.

Then a smile came to Touji's lips. He would have his revenge against the doctor, even though he would only be acting behind the scenes. Truth be told, he'd much rather punch her in the face, but that would only get his sister removed from the hospital. This way was much better, since it also helped out his friend.

_I could tell that that woman doesn't want Ayanami and Shinji to get together. If I have my way, she won't know until it's too late._

Touji smiled bitterly once more and bit into an apple.

_I'll make sure that Shinji and Rei get together no matter what._

* * *

For the fifth time since they left school, Shinji felt eyes on his back. When he looked around for the watcher, however, no one was to be found. 

"Is something wrong, Ikari?" Rei asked as she looked at him, puzzled.

"No," Shinji said. "I just thought somebody was following us."

"I see," Rei said, though she was not sure why that would make him act like this.

Since they left the school, Rei and Shinji had been walking in silence. Shinji was quiet because he was far too shocked that Rei said that she would like to walk home with him, and Rei was quiet because she was about to do something she had never really done before. She was going to apologize to Shinji.

Ever since the other day, Rei had been feeling this urge to apologize to Shinji for slapping him back when she first met him. At the time, she had rationalized slapping him because he was showing disrespect for the commander. Now, however, she realized that his disrespect had been entirely justified, and she was sorry that she had slapped anyone in defense of the commander, especial Shinji. She had been afraid that he hated her for it, but she was sure that this was not the case. Shinji just wasn't like that. Still, she really wanted to apologize to him.

She took a breath and felt a tingling in her stomach. She wondered if she may be sick, but she didn't feel like she was. She glanced at Shinji. _Could it be him? Is he making me feel this feeling?_ To Rei, who had never before experienced nervousness, it was a very strange experience. However, she could not let this prevent her from apologizing to Shinji.

"Ayanami," Shinji said before Rei could say anything.

"Yes, Ikari?" she asked.

"Why did you defend me this morning?"

Rei fell silent. Until after the event had passed, Rei herself didn't even realized what she was doing. All she knew was that she like seeing Shinji accused of things she new were not true, and she didn't want to see him hurt. She had made a promise with Unit One to protect Shinji for as long as she could. "I did not want you to be harmed," she said.

"Oh," Shinji said.

They continued to walk in silence.

As happy as Shinji was that Rei didn't want him to be harmed, he still wasn't sure whether she was concerned for him because she liked him, or because he was an Eva pilot. He'd like to believe in the former, but he just couldn't be sure.

"Ikari," Rei started to say.

Shinji looked at Rei as they continued to walk. "Yes, Ayanami?"

"I…" Rei hesitated. She had never done this before, never apologized to anyone, not even to the commander. It was just like how she had thanked Shinji yesterday at her apartment. Before that, she had never thanked anyone. Shinji kept causing her to do new things, like apologizing, thanking, blushing, and making her heart beat faster. _Maybe President Horaki was right. Do I love Shinji?_ "I am sorry, Ikari."

Shinji stopped walking, and Rei stopped as well. Shinji looked at Rei, puzzled. "Sorry for what?" he asked. "I don't think you've done anything to apologize for."

_He must have forgotten,_ Rei thought. Then she spoke. "I am sorry for striking you, Ikari." Then she bowed at a ninety-degree angle and stayed there.

Shinji was shocked. Aside from the fact that Rei was apologizing to him, it was what she was apologizing for is what had him so shocked. Though he knew that Rei's respect for his father had diminished since he told how his father had used her, he just couldn't understand why Rei was apologizing now. It happened so long ago that it didn't really matter anymore, but Shinji was happy nonetheless. However, he was too stunned to say anything.

Rei just stood there staring at the ground as she continued to bow. She didn't rise or look up at Shinji, but waited in silence. His silence made her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he was still angry with her and wouldn't forgive her for slapping him,

Because of Rei's continued silence, Shinji had time to recover his senses, and he walked up to her. Rei felt Shinji approach before she saw his feet, but she didn't move. She was still waiting for him to accept her apology, and she would continue waiting until he did. Lucky for her, Shinji didn't have to think twice about whether or not to accept the apology.

Rei's eyes widened a little when she felt Shinji's hands on her shoulders before he slowly stood her up. Rei looked up at Shinji, and he was smiling at her.

"You don't need to apologize," Shinji said. "That was a long time ago, it doesn't matter now."

Rei felt a huge wave of relief. She had been deathly afraid that he wouldn't accept her apology, but now everything was all right. She smiled.

Shinji's eyes widened. This was only the second time he had ever seen her smile. The first time had been back when he rescued her from Unit Zero's entry plug, burning his hands in the process…

* * *

The Fifth Angel was a burning mass that shown against Tokyo-3, but Shinji didn't notice it. As soon as the angle was down, Shinji had ejected his entry plug and jumped out, frantically climbing down Unit One. _Ayanami was standing in front of the angle's weapon too long!_ Shinji thought. _It's my fault I because I missed the first shot! She has to be okay, she has to be!_

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Shinji sprinted over to Rei's melted, twisted, and mangled entry plug. He frantically looked around for the hatchway inside, not noticing the scorching heat radiating from the partially melted exterior. He was far too concerned to notice anything like that.

When he found the hatch, he didn't hesitate one moment in grabbing the red hot metal handles to open it. The skin on his hands instantly went to a third degree burn, even through the plug suit. Shinji barely winced at the pain as he struggled to open the hatch. If Rei died, he didn't know what he was going to do. _Why? Why did they have to order her to protect me from the angel's blast?_

Though she had slapped him across the face just the day before for insulting his father, this was something he never wanted. Rei would follow any orders that she is given, he knew that, and that was why he felt sorry for her. She had never learned to act for herself. She probably didn't even know what made her happy. Ritsuko had said that Rei just wasn't good at living. It had been a while before Shinji realized what she meant.

The handles wouldn't budge, and Shinji tried harder.

She had told him earlier, before they got into their Eva's. Eva was her only reason for living, she said. She had nothing else to live for. Even if she died, she could be replaced. When Shinji said he was afraid of dying, she had told him that he would be safe, that she would protect him. But what hit him hardest, was that when she left for her Eva, she had said goodbye. Rei said that she had no reason to live… It was all his father's fault!

Shinji had lost all feeling in his hands, but he pushed even harder on the handles.

It was his father; he used her again now just like he used her before. His father didn't care what happened to him or her, just so long as they got the job done. He hated his father; there was nothing to help that. The fact that Rei had defended him had made it even worse, since Shinji knew that she was seeing his father through eyes that had no concept of good or evil, just orders. Shinji would not let her die; he needed to show Rei how to live!

Shinji felt strength rise within him, and the handlebars gave way, unlocking the hatch. Yanking it open Shinji thrust his head inside and looked around. Rei was sitting in the pilots seat. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving.

"Ayanami!" Shinji yelled. "Are you all right! Ayanami!"

Rei's eyes opened and she looked at Shinji.

Shinji felt tears coming now that he knew that she was alive, and he couldn't help smiling. He was so relieved that she was alive. "Don't ever say that," he told her though tears, "just don't say that you have nothing else! Just don't say that. And don't say goodbye when you leave on a mission, it's just too sad." He couldn't stop his tears, but he was happy.

Rei looked at the tears falling down his face. "Why are you crying?" she asked. It confused her.

"I'm just so happy that you are alive," Shinji said as he wiped away some of the tears even though they were replaced soon after.

Rei's eyes widened. Nobody had ever been worried enough to cry for her, not even the commander, and he had burnt his hands to get her out. She suddenly looked at Shinji's hands. She couldn't see much, but it looked like the plug suit had melted and the palms of his hands had turned black. Shinji had done the same thing as the commander. Rei was shocked, and she looked away from him. "I'm very sorry," she said, "but I don't know what I should do or feel at a time like this."

Shinji raised his head up a little higher. "Why don't you just try smiling?" he told her.

Rei looked at Shinji in surprise. She had never expected him to say this. But then, slowly, her lips started to move, and curled into a smile. Shinji had never seen a more beautiful sight.

* * *

And now he was seeing that sight again after many months and angel attacks. Shinji was really happy. As he looked down into Rei's smiling face, he couldn't find a single flaw in her features. It was almost like she wasn't a real person. She was so beautiful, and Shinji could feel his heart pace quicken rapidly. _Rei..._

Rei had her head slightly tilted so she could look into Shinji's face. She didn't know that she was smiling, she was doing it unconsciously, but she wasn't able to control anything at the moment. Her heart was beating fast. Ever since Shinji had burnt his hands to open her entry plug, she had felt different about him, and the feeling had grown until it reached the tremendous size that it was now. _Shinji..._

Slowly, ever so slowly, their heads started to drift closer together, neither realizing what they were doing.

"Come on, just a little more…" a voice said.

The voice that suddenly appeared out of nowhere jerked both teens back to reality, though neither realized how close they were to each other. Both were frowning in confusion and turned to regard the source of the voice. Less than half a meter away stood Kensuke Aida, leering at them with his video camera.

Shinji's eyes widened when he saw Kensuke and then his head whipped back to Rei, finally realizing how close they actually were to each other. He gave a yelp and leapt backwards, distancing himself. "Kensuke!" he yelled. "What are you doing!"

"Just recording one of the most remarkable events in history," he said, never taking the eyepiece from his face. "Don't mind me. Pretend that I'm not even here. Continue on, continue on."

That was something that would never happen. Now that Shinji realized what had been happening, his face turned red and he looked at the ground. He already felt horrible for kissing Rei while she was sleeping, and he almost kissed her again, only this time she was awake. He was horrible. "Continue what!" he said in a half-panic. "We weren't doing anything!"

"Sure you weren't," Kensuke said as he continued looking through the eyepiece. "There is absolutely nothing on the tape in this camera, so keep at it."

Shinji's eyes widened. He didn't know how long Kensuke had been standing there, but his gut told him that it had been long enough. He leaped at Kensuke. "Give me that tape!" he shouted.

Kensuke unglued the camera from his face and sidestepped to the left, causing Shinji to miss and fall onto the ground with a thud. "I thought you weren't doing anything?" he asked laughing, only to feel the camera be suddenly lifted out of his hand from behind. He turned around, and saw two red orbs staring at him.

Rei had the camera in her hands. She was annoyed with Kensuke. She rarely felt annoyance, but on occasion she did. It was not a feeling she particularly like because the first time she experienced it, she had slapped Shinji across the face. Kensuke had interrupted her time with Shinji right when she was sure that something good was about to happen. On top of that, Shinji was now on the ground because Kensuke had something he wanted. Kensuke could obviously see the annoyance, because he backed away. Then again, it is quite unnerving for most people to be stared at by a person with red eyes, eyes that seemed to glow when the sun hit them just right.

Rei looked away from Kensuke and down to a groaning Shinji. Leaping at something that suddenly vanishes doesn't really end with a good feeling, Shinji now knew. He suddenly felt something strange, like a wave passing through him and groaned again, hoping that nothing was broken. Hearing his groan Rei walked over to him.

Upon reaching Shinji, who had his face crumpled up in pain, Rei kneeled down beside him. "Are you injured, Ikari?" she asked.

Shinji opened his eyes and looked at Rei. Checking his senses, he made sure that everything felt like it was in the right place before saying, "I'm fine, thanks Ayanami." Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Rei held out the camera to him. "Here," she said.

Shinji looked down at the camera, and then back at Kensuke who seemed to be too awed by the turn of events to realize that he didn't have the camera. Shinji knew he didn't have much time before Kensuke regained his senses, so he quickly opened the camera and took out the tape. Shutting the camera, he pocketed the tape. Slowly, he stood up, walked over to Kensuke, and tried to place the camera in his hands.

Kensuke seemed to be so shocked that he wasn't moving. He didn't even respond when the camera was attempted to be replaced into his hands. Shinji frowned. Pulling the camera away, he lifted up his free hand and waved it in front of Kensuke's face. No response.

"Kensuke…" he said. Nothing.

Shinji stood back and scratched his head, only to wince in pain when he realized that his elbow hurt badly. He looked at it and saw that it was scraped up and bleeding.

Rei's eyes widened at Shinji's wound, and she chastised herself for not noticing it before. She forgot everything else, even her annoyance with Kensuke and rushed over to him.

When Shinji felt Rei run up behind him, he turned around and laughed a little. "I guess I am a little hurt," he told her.

Rei was looking at his bleeding scrape with concerned eyes when a yell startled both her and Shinji.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" it shouted.

Rei and Shinji both quickly looked to the source of the voice, and saw that it was Kensuke staring at them both with wide eyes.

"This?" Shinji said, gesturing to his wound. "I got it when I fell on the ground."

"No! Not that!" Kensuke said in a breathless voice. "How did you two get my camera!" he yelled.

Rei and Shinji exchanged confused looks.

"Are you all right Kensuke?" Shinji asked.

"No! I'm not all right!" he said. "You two have my camera!" He seemed to be panicking, but then he suddenly calmed down and the panic was replaced with excitement. "It's some new creation from NERV, isn't it? Some new object teleportation device?" he asked. He started looking frantically at Shinji and Rei. "Where is it? Let me see!"

"Kensuke…" Shinji frowned. He felt a little worried for his friend. "I think you might need to see a doctor. Rei took the camera from you, remember?"

"What?" Kensuke said, suddenly stopping his frantic searching.

"You really should see a doctor, it might be something serious," Shinji said again. He was worried about his friend.

"So you mean there isn't any new invention?" Kensuke said sadly.

"No," Shinji said as he shook his head.

"Bummer," Kensuke said. Then he shrugged. "It can't be anything too serious. Maybe I just had a short term memory loss or something." Then he looked down at the camera in Shinji's hand. Faster than Shinji was able to see, Kensuke had snatched the camera back and was now aiming it at Shinji and Rei. "Are you two going to continue, or what?"

"Kensuke!" Shinji said as he was about start arguing with the boy, but something interrupted him. He felt a hand on his arm. Looking down, he saw that Rei pull his arm up so she could inspect his wound.

"Um, Aayanami?" he said.

"It does not look deep," Rei said after a moment. "However, it will need to be sterilized and properly wrapped." She looked away from the wound and up at Shinji. "I have the proper supplies at my apartment."

"Really," Shinji said, not wanting to cause Rei any trouble, "It's fine. You don't need to…" He trailed of as he saw Rei shaking her head.

"No, it needs to be treated," she said. Gently taking Shinji's arm, she pulled him in the direction of her apartment.

Shinji's face had flushed red. He wasn't sure if Rei knew that they looked like a couple when she had his arm like that, but he didn't really see any need to tell her. After all, he kind of liked it like this.

Suddenly Rei stopped. Without turning around, she said, "Do not follow us, Aida." Then she continued walking.

Shinji's head whipped around as he was being pulled along. He had forgotten about Kensuke. He felt better when he saw Kensuke sulking as he walked in the opposite direction as them.

He looked back to Rei and then continued walking to her apartment.

* * *

As soon as Shinji and Rei were out of sight, Kensuke dashed off to the side and started heading back towards them. They didn't think he was going to give up this easily did he? Kensuke grinned as he raced down a back road that would lead him to Shinji and Rei. Raising his camera, he pressed the record button in preparation for the moment of truth, only trip and fall when the "no tape" symbol flashed. 

Raising himself to his knees, he looked in disbelief at the flashing light before letting out a howl of anguish. Everything he had recorded was gone. He had even caught the impossible smile that Rei gave Shinji. He didn't know how it had been done, but somehow Shinji had gotten the tape.

His scream ending, Kensuke slumped down in a heap and tried to look on the bright side. At least things couldn't get any worse. Unlike books or movies, this was real life, and thinking such a thing wouldn't cause a deluge to suddenly open up in the sky above him even though it was cloudy.

Kensuke felt something wet land on his head, and he cursed all living things.

* * *

"The school is now closing. All students must go to their homes immediately." 

Touji looked up from his food as he heard his announcement. He hadn't even begun cleaning yet. Sighing, he continued to eat. _Damn that doctor. I missed lunch because of her. I wonder how Shinji and Rei are doing..._

"Um, Suzuhara," someone said.

"Ah?" Touji said as he looked up. He didn't think that anyone would still be here at this time of day. Hikari was looking down at him. Touji adjusted himself in his chair. With Shinji getting closer to Rei, he had wanted to start getting closer to Hikari, but that woman had ruined the day, and possible his life. He felt kind of numb after what he promised to do today, so his voice sounded emotionless.

Hikari was looking down at Touji in concern. The school was closing, and yet he was still sitting down and eating. "You're on cleanup duty," she told him. "You have to lineup these desks and clean off the blackboards."

"I haven't had lunch yet. I'll do it, as soon as I've eaten."

Hikari looked down at the decrepit snacks he was eating. "Do you always buy your lunch from the school shop?" she asked.

"Of course, there's no one at home who can cook," he answered as he swallowed a bit of food.

"Suzuhara," Hikari said. She was concerned about him. He hadn't been acting normally since he went to the office earlier. She opened her mouth, but then hesitated. She really like Touji, and being alone with him made her a little nervous.

"Hm?" Touji said when she didn't say anything.

Hikari didn't say anything for a second, but then she began talking. "I have two sisters. Their names are Kodama and Nozomi, and I always make lunches for them everyday," she said.

"That's a lot of work," Touji said as he ate some more food.

"I'm actually a pretty good cook, though I guess you might not expect that," she said. Her heart was beating pretty fast. She didn't know why she couldn't just come out and ask if she could make his lunches for him.

"Hmm," Touji said through a mouthful of food.

"And you see I always end up cooking too much for our lunches…" she said, staring at her hands. This was embarrassing.

"Ah," Touji said while starring off into space. "That's definitely a waste."

Hikari's face turned red. Now she would have to ask if he would like her to make lunch for him. "Uh…"

However, Touji spoke before she could finish. "If you need help getting rid of the leftovers, I'll help," he said casually.

Hikari's head snapped up and she smiled. "Yes, please!" she said. It would have been so embarrassing if she had asked him.

"Well," Touji said as he stood up. "I guess I should get cleaning now."

"Oh, um, do you want me to help?" Hikari asked.

"No thanks," Touji said as he started moving the desks. "This is my job. You can go home."

"Oh, alright," she said as she walked to the door. Stopping the doorframe, she looked over her shoulder at Touji. He looked a little more like his usual self now. She hopped that she had helped him. "Goodbye," she said.

"See ya," Touji said without turning around as he moved another desk into the line.

Hikari nodded and then closed the door behind her. She wanted to hurry home and prepare Touji's lunch for school. It needed to be perfect, since it was for Touji after all. She smiled, and headed home.

* * *

Ritsuko Akagi let out a string of curses as she sat in front of her monitor. Five minutes ago her tirade of the most fowl language to ever exist on this planet had started, and it didn't look as if it was going to stop anytime soon. For the second time that day, and the fourth in two weeks, an unknown angel signature had suddenly appeared and just as abruptly vanished. People were starting to doubt the MAGI's capabilities, but Ritsuko knew that the supercomputers were perfect. She could not have anyone doubting her mother's work. She had run tests on the computers to confirm her beliefs that the computers were perfect. She was a scientist after all, and she wouldn't ever believe something blindly. 

The problem was, she decided finally, that the MAGI weren't perfect _enough_. When any of the other angels attacked, the signature remained within the scanning range of the MAGI long enoughfor them to locate it. Once they knew the approximate location of the angel, its signature could be monitored in real time, with no delay. The problem with these signatures was that they were vanishing before the MAGI could get that initial lock on them, and that was the problem Ritsuko was currently trying to rectify.

It was just that perfecting the already perfect coding of the MAGI wasn't easy. She had to go through and remove any unnecessary piece of code throughout each of the MAGI's billion or so lines of code, and she was the only one who could do it. That wasn't even counting the inefficient code that she would have to rework after she had cleaned up the code enough. When she was finished, however, the MAGI should be able to locate any signatures that showed up. She just didn't know how long it would be until she finished. The door behind Ritsuko opened gently, but the doctor never took her eyes off the monitor as her fingers flew over the keyboard at near light speed.

Maya Ibuki stepped in with a mug of hot coffee in her hands. Quietly, she walked up to the doctor. "I thought that you might want this," she said to Ritsuko.

"Thank you Maya," Ritsuko said. "Put it down right there, if you would." Other than her words, Ritsuko did nothing to acknowledge the other woman's presence. Her eyes didn't move from the monitor and her fingers didn't falter as she continued to type away on the screen.

Maya did as she was told, but she didn't leave Ritsuko's room. Instead, she was staring at Ritsuko's hands. It never ceased to amaze her how fast the doctor could type. Every time Maya thought that she might be approaching the doctor's level, all she needed to do was watch her idol type to humble her back down. The fact that the delete key seemed to have dust on it only made Maya's adoration of her superior even greater as she watched Ritsuko's hands fly across the keyboard. _I wish that I had those hands around—_

"Was there anything else, Maya?" Ritsuko said, still without looking away from the monitor.

Maya's face flushed red almost faster than Ritsuko typed. "Ah, no ma'am," Maya said. Then she bowed and left the room.

When the door closed behind Maya, Ritsuko stopped typing. She sat there for a moment before looking down at the mug of coffee. Turning away from the computer screen, Ritsuko grabbed the handle and brought the mug to her lips. _She's a good worker,_ Ritsuko thought. Maybe the time had come for Ritsuko to recommend Maya for a promotion. Setting the mug down again, Ritsuko returned her gaze to the monitor.

There was time for promotion's later, and now that she had a new dose of caffeine, Ritsuko was ready to work into the night.

* * *

Rei dragged Shinji into her apartment and sat him down on her bed. Soon after, she immediately began searching for bandages. Shinji, though happy that Rei was this worried about him, began thinking that something must be wrong with today. First of all, Rei, who always seemed distant, had publicly defended him; then, Asuka had defied all logic and apologized to him; and now here he was at Rei's house while she was trying to doctor him. They had even made it to her apartment just as it began to rain. Either good things were finally starting to happen to him, or something really, really bad was going to happen soon. Considering his life so far, Shinji was pretty sure that it was going to be the latter. 

"Here," Rei said as she walked up to Shinji with some iodine, paper towels, and bandages. Putting some iodine on one of the towels, she took hold of Shinji's arm and said, "Do not move." Though she said in a tone that would probably have worked better in a bank robbery, Shinji was used to her way of speaking and nodded. Softly, Rei began dabbing Shinji's scrape with the towel, causing him to wince slightly. When she was finished sterilizing the cut, Rei threw the towel away and reached for the bandages. Unraveling a sufficient amount, she began wrapping it around his arm.

Shinji was watching Rei's face as she concentrated on wrapping his arm. She was really beautiful, though he had already decided that many months ago. It was just that seeing her concentrate on helping him made him really happy. He remembered her smiling at him just a little while ago, and it made him really happy. If only she would do that more often.

Rei finished wrapping his arm and put the rest of her bandages away. "There," she said when she returned. "That should be sufficient." She turned to look at Shinji's face and found him staring at her.

Rei didn't turn away or say anything. Instead she just looked right back at him. Her conversation with President Horaki earlier came back to her, and she wondered if she might really love Shinji. She didn't know, since she had never loved anyone before. Even what she had felt for the commander wasn't as strong as what she felt for Shinji. It was just something that she wasn't confident enough to know whether she loved him or not. She was going to have to gather some more information before she could make a decision.

Shinji, on the other hand, knew perfectly well how he felt about Rei, but he just didn't have the self-confidence to confess to her. In a way, he felt grateful that Touji had needed to go to the office today because that meant he wasn't going to force Shinji to confess to Rei. It was really something that Shinji wanted to do, but he didn't know if he could handle it if she rejected him. Suddenly noticing that Rei had finished wrapping his arm and was now staring at him, Shinji's face turned red and he looked away.

And then his eyes landed on the small bed table that rested at the foot of Rei's bed. There on the surface of the table, rested the glasses case that held his father's glasses. _She still has them… _Shinji suddenly stood up and was staring at the floor.

"Ikari?" Rei asked, noting the sudden change in Shinji's behavior.

"I-I'm sorry, Ayanami," he said, still not meeting her gaze. "I have to go now." Then before Rei could react, he started towards the door.

As soon as Rei realized what was happening, she went after Shinji. "Ikari, why are you leaving?"

Shinji stopped and didn't look around at Rei. "I...I have to be somewhere," he said.

Rei came up behind him and stopped. "Ikari," she said slowly. "Do you hate me?"

Shinji was so startled at the question that he spun around immediately and looked at Rei. "No!" he shouted. "I don't hate you! I could never hate you, because—" Shinji cut himself short as he realized what he had been about to say. _Because I love you,_ he finished mentally.

Rei just looked at him, and she smiled for the second time that day. "I am glad," she said. Then something truly remarkable happened. Rei took a step forward and encircled her arms around Shinji, leaning her head against his chest.

Shinji was too shocked to even do anything. He just froze stiff and didn't move. Of all the things that had happened to him today, this one was by far the most unexpected and surprising. He wasn't complaining though; feeling Rei hug him as she was gave him an odd feeling of contentedness that he had never felt before, and slowly, he returned the hug. That is, until he realized what he was doing, and lost his balance, pulling Rei down on top of him.

Which did not make the situation any better. Far from it, since now Rei was leaning over Shinji who was sprawled out backwards on the floor. Idle, Shinji thought of a situation where their positions had been reversed the first time he had visited her apartment, but the thought didn't last long since Shinji suddenly leapt backwards as he sat up, stuttering.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry!" he yelled, clapping his hands together in front of himself as he bowed his head.

Rei was kneeling on the ground a meter or so away from Shinji, looking at him. "What are you apologizing for, Ikari? That was not your fault," she said.

"Well, yes but… what I mean is… um… sorry!" Shinji bowed his head again. Then he started backing towards the door while standing up, though he never turned his back to Rei. "I really do need to go now," he said. "Misato will be mad at me if I'm late again. Goodbye Ayanami!" He hurriedly put his shoes on and scrambled out her door, breaking into a run as soon as he was through the threshold.

Rei watched the door after Shinji had left. She felt happy that she had been with him today, but she was puzzled with herself. She wondered why she had embraced him just a few moments ago. She always knew that she wanted to be near Shinji, but she had always been wary of following her desires. A lifetime being brought up by the commander still had its effects on her. She could tell that she had made Shinji uncomfortable, even though he had returned the embrace for a moment. It was just… why did she choose now to act differently?

When she thought it over, she had been acting very differently all day, and had even smiled at Shinji. He had once told her that he liked it when she smiled, back when he burnt his hands trying to see if she was all right, and she wanted to do anything to make Shinji happy. Her eyes glanced over at the glasses case that once held the commander's glasses before she had thrown them from her apartment. She had smiled for _him_ before, but now she regretted the fact that she ever did.

When she thought about it, the only thing that happened today that was different from any other was her conversation with Hikari. And then there was the Second Child, Pilot Soryu. Rei frowned. All day she had been getting cold glances from the Second Child, and she had not liked it whenever Asuka's attention had been focused on Shinji, even when she wasn't harming him. She needed to know why this was. Could it have something to do with what President Horaki had told her? Did she really love Shinji? Not knowing many emotions before Shinji came into her life, she was not entirely sure if she did indeed love him. She felt something for him, that was for sure, but was it love? She would need to gather more information at school tomorrow.

Standing up, Rei walked over to her refrigerator, one of the few pieces of furniture in the apartment. Careful not to spill the beaker filled with water that was sitting on top of it, she opened the door. She still had more than enough bread from the time she went shopping with Shinji. That had been the first time that she had lied straight out to someone, and she felt bad that it had been Shinji, but she had wanted to spend time with him. Since he was going to the store, she had followed him and told him that she was out of bread when he noticed her, even though she had several loaves in her refrigerator. Reaching for one of the loaves, she pulled a slice out of the bag and shut the door.

Yes, she would definitely make a decision tomorrow. She wanted to know for sure what this feeling was. Tomorrow would be the day.

* * *

Shinji was running through the pouring rain back towards Misato's apartment. He felt really bad for putting himself and Rei in the position that they had fallen. Had it been Asuka that he had pulled down on top of him, he wasn't sure that he would be running home right now. Reaching Misato's apartment building, he darted in the door and ran up several flights until he was standing in front of the door, breathing hard. Taking out a key from his pocket, he unlocked the door and went inside. 

The lights were off, which was a sure bet that either Misato or Asuka weren't home yet, or that Misato was lying drunk in her bedroom. Flicking on the lights and peeking into Misato's room, Shinji established that the former was the reason.

Shinji took of his shoes slowly. His mind was on what had happened when Rei fell on top of him earlier. Had he not been so embarrassed, he would stayed with her longer, but that wasn't the case. Coupled with her sudden embrace of him earlier, Shinji didn't know what he was going to do. What did the embrace mean? This was the real reason Shinji had run away. Shinji didn't want to get his hopes up, so he left before they had a chance to be shattered. _Why do I always run away?_

Shinji frowned as he walked into his room to change clothes. _I don't want to run away, _he thought as he unbuttoned his dress shirt, _but I don't want to stay either. I don't want to be hurt. But… I don't want to hurt others either. _Running away could do that, Shinji new all too well. What if he ran away when he was really needed some time? What if Rei got hurt because he ran away? _I can't let that happen. I need to become strong, and not be the coward I always am. I need to be strong like—like that time…_ It slowly came to Shinji, but he remembered it.

When he had thought Rei was dead, the entire prospect of running away had completely vanished. Instead he leapt from his Eva and burnt his hands while trying to find out if she was still alive. He could have run away and waited until others discovered whether or not she was still alive; that would have at least given him a few more hours of rest. But that didn't happen. Shinji had gone to check, knowing that what he might find would hurt him more than anything had before.

_Rei makes me strong_, he realized as he left his room in jeans and t-shirt. _Is that why I feel this way about her? But even so,_ he let out a bitter laugh,_ I still can't work up enough courage to tell her how I feel. I don't want to lose what I have right now. And she still has _his_ glasses._

Shinji glanced at the clock. It was getting pretty late, almost dark out. Misato and Asuka should be home soon. Shinji went to the fridge to see if there was anything he could get ready for when they arrived. He opened the refrigerator looked inside. There wasn't much except Misato's stock of beer. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed it yesterday, but it seemed that Misato had used up all the food he bought with Rei while he was recovering from the last angel incident. At least there was still a little fish left. That at least might hold them over until he went shopping again.

Remembering the shopping incident with Rei, Shinji recalled that he had told her that she could come over for dinner anytime she wanted. Shinji needed to go shopping again soon, and he would need to buy things that Rei would eat, since she didn't eat meat, and all they had left at Misato's house was some rice and fish. Shinji shook his head. Rei was on his mind so much and knowing why didn't help Shinji any.

Suddenly the door opened and Misato walked in.

"Oh, hi Shinji," Misato said tiredly as she walked into the apartment. Pulling out a chair at the table, she sat down and let out a loud sigh. "Finally," she said. "Shinji, could you get me a drink?" She pointed to the refrigerator.

Shinji knew that by a drink, Misato was asking for a can of beer. Shinji just sighed and pulled a can out of the refrigerator before handing it to Misato. She slowly took it from him and popped open the top before downing the contents.

"Yeah!" she suddenly yelled. "Give me another one!" Her tiredness had seemingly vanished as soon as she took a sip.

Shinji let out an exasperated sigh. This happened almost everyday Misato replenished her energy supply. He was sure that was what she was doing: stocking up for the next day. He gave her another beer and went back to preparing the fish.

"So Shinji," Misato said as she began drinking another can. "How was school?"

_It was the oddest day I ever had, what with Rei and Asuka acting like they did. _"It was fine," he said. "Touji was called to the office at lunch and he didn't come back till near the end of school."

If Shinji had been facing Misato instead of preparing dinner, he would have seen her stiffen when he said that Touji was called to the office. "Did he tell you why he was called?" she asked, though she already knew the answer. Shinji wouldn't be acting as calm as he was if Touji had told him.

"No," Shinji said as he began scraping the slices of fish into a frying pan, causing them to sizzle as they hit the surface. "It's none of my business anyway."

Misato sighed inwardly. _There goes the hope that Touji told Shinji. I don't know how I'll be able to tell him._ She put it out of her mind. It wasn't something that she wanted to think about right then. She looked around the apartment.

"Is Asuka home yet?" she asked Shinji.

Shinji looked over his shoulder when he replied. "Not yet, I haven't seen her since I left school." Looking back down at the food, he didn't mention the fact that he was glad for that fact. He didn't know what he was going to do next time he saw her, especially after how she had acted today. Come to think of it, he realized, he didn't know how he was going to act the next time he saw Rei.

"Hm," Misato said. "I'm sure Asuka be home soon." She leaned back in her chair, and it fell over.

Shinji just shook his head and continued cooking.

* * *

Asuka sneezed as she walked through the corridors of NERV head quarters. _Someone is talking about me,_ she thought bitterly. She continued walking down the hall, glaring at anyone who passed her. She was not in a good mood. Being nice to people was not an easy thing, as she had to resist the urge to yell at them, like she had done with Shinji earlier. That, however, was not the reason for her fowl mood. Instead it was because of _her._

Asuka did not like the First Child. Rei reminded Asuka too much of a doll, and Asuka hated dolls. They brought back so many bad memories that Asuka did not want to experience, so she kept them submerged with her anger and hatred. Rei was just too much like a doll for Asuka's liking. She did whatever she was ordered like she had no will of her own. What made it worse was that Shinji had gone to see if Rei was alright before he checked on Asuka. She just couldn't believe how he could be more concerned for that doll than for her. That was what had changed her mind about how to act towards Shinji.

She was sure that Shinji could never like the doll in _that_ way, no one could. It must be because he had known Rei longer than he had her. That had to be the reason. He cared more for someone he knew longer. If he continued to care about the doll more than her, she would never get him to notice her. Not that she was interested in him or anything, but it galled her that someone could be more concerned about a doll than her. She never wanted to be in that situation again. Hikari's suggestion had been the only thing that she could try at the moment, and she would use it until it failed.

It wasn't that she particularly disliked Shinji, it was just his attitude. He was an Eva pilot, but he was so cowardly. All her bullying or picking on him had been her way of trying to help him change. If he was braver, then she might actually consider him worthy to possibly be her boyfriend.

The problem was that everything she had been doing had been having the opposite effect. Shinji always backed down away from her and just continued to run away. Asuka had always been able to get her way by threatening people before, but with Shinji it seemed that she could get him to do anything _except_ for what she wanted. Since he had refused to act according to her wishes when she used force, she was going to have to rely on coercion.

She was walking down the hall when she suddenly found an open door. She looked into it and her mood went from lousy to one that was much more pleasant. Sitting in front of a computer inside the room was the one person that Asuka was never sad to see.

"Hiya, Kaji!" she said as she walked through the doorway, all thoughts of Shinji completely gone from her mind.

Kaji stopped typing, but he didn't turn around to look at Asuka. "Oh, Asuka? Sorry, I'm busy right now. Can it wait?" he asked. _She picked one hell of a time to come in,_ Kaji thought as he ground his teeth together.

"Hm?" Asuka started walking up behind him "But you have time for Misato," she said in a hurt voice. When she was right behind him, she jumped at him and threw her arms around his neck. "Kaji!" she yelled in delight.

Kaji, however, was not as enthusiastic about having Asuka's arms around his neck as she was. "Ah! Damn it! Not right now!" he yelled at her.

Asuka was about to act hurt in reply when something on the screen caught her eye. "Oh, these are our sync-data reports," she said as she pushed Kaji out of the way to look at them. Once she got a closer look, however, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Huh, four? Oh my God, it can't be! Who in the hell made him the Fourth Child! I won't stand for it!" she yelled.

"Get down, Asuka!" Kaji yelled as she was climbing on top of him to look at the report.

"Why is he the Fourth Child!" she yelled back at him, though she never took her eyes off the monitor. "Why him!"

"Asuka! Get out!" Kaji yelled back at her.

Asuka just glared at Kaji. He wouldn't have told Misato to get out. Her fowl mood returned.

"Fine!" she yelled at him as she stalked outside, slamming the door behind her.

_Of all the people they could have chosen, _Asuka thought, _why did it have to be him?_ She bristled with anger. On top of that, Kaji had told her to leave, leave! She knew that he wouldn't have told Misato to leave. And then there was Shinji, why did he have to check on Rei before her! Fine, if she wasn't wanted, she didn't want them either!

* * *

As soon as Asuka was gone, Kaji sighed in relief. He was a bit angry with himself for allowing her to see the sync reports, but it was better that she saw them than the window that had been opened a moment before she came in. He got up from his seat and locked the door to his office, chastising himself for being so careless as to leave it open. Returning to his seat, he maximized the window he was interested in. 

Until today, Kaji had taken no interest in the phantom signatures that had started popping up. Now, however, seeing just how much of an uproar they were causing, his interest was peaked, and he took his own initiative to find out just exactly what they were. After all, the information could be valuable, and it was his job to uncover secrets.

Technically, he should not be able to have access to this information, but pilfering Ritsuko's security card had done him worlds of wonders. The access he was granted as a result was more than he could have hoped for, and it gave him some new suspicions. He had never expected the doctor to have as much access to the system as she did, even though she was in charge of the MAGI. Also, he suspected that she had access to even more areas that couldn't be reached with a security card. It made him wonder just why she had as much access as she did, but that was for another time.

Browsing through the records of the phantom signatures, or ghosts, as Kaji had come to call them, he pulled up the first log. There was nothing remarkable. It said was that a signature was detected within the range of the MAGI's sensors, but that was all. The second signature had appeared just minutes later, but this time the MAGI sensors had detected that it was within the boundaries of Tokyo-3. He grunted. They hadn't told him it was that close. He looked at the log documenting the first ghost signature that had appeared today. It wasn't much different than the other two, just that it was present long enough to be detected.

Kaji stifled a yawn at the monotony he was finding. He wasn't finding anything interesting or that would help him identify what it was that the ghosts actually were. He was going to give up, but he decided to at least look at the last log showing the signature that had appeared this afternoon.

Kaji's eyes widened with interest and his boredom was swept away when he saw this one. It was different. While the MAGI still failed to get a lock on it's position, this one at least showed something interesting. This signature existed for less than one trillionth of a second. Even with the high processing speed of the MAGI super computers, they shouldn't have been able to detect any normal angel signature if it existed for that long. But Kaji could see that this was no ordinary signature. The power that this one put out was more that that of all previous angel's combined. That was the only reason that the MAGI had been able to detect it.

Kaji looked back over the logs showing the other three signatures, and found what he was looking for. The strength of each signal increased each time one appeared. The first signal had barely enough power to be detected by the MAGI. The second had a little more power, and the third even more still. Each time the amount of power increased exponentially.

Kaji leaned back in his chair, thinking. _These signals have been increasing in power each time they've appeared. What could it mean? I wonder if Ritsu has worked this much out yet about the four signals that have been detected._

Kaji suddenly sat straight up in his chair as that last thought occurred to him. _Four signals that have been detected… Four signals that alerted that MAGI. If the first signal was barely strong enough to set off the alarm, there could have been many before it that had appeared, but weren't strong enough for any level of concern. That's it!_

Kaji started tapping away at the keyboard furiously. He was on to something, he was sure. Pulled up all logs since the Third Angel's appearance. It would take far too long to manually search through all the logs, so Kaji redefined the normal level of activity, setting it lower so that anything higher than the bare minimum would register. Bingo.

Many signatures began to register as angels, but there were four that stood out above the rest. There were two more signatures between today and the previous time signatures had been detected, he noticed. He wondered why it hadn't had as much power as the other ones around it, but he soon saw the reason. These signatures should have been detected just as the others had, but NERV had had other problems at the moment. They had appeared during the time that the Twelfth Angel had been looming in the sky. Compared the Twelfth Angel, the other two signatures hadn't been even worth the worry, and the MAGI ignored them. Kaji smirked. _I'd say that this could be considered an error in the MAGI's programming, but Ritsu would skin me alive if I ever said that._ He returned to thinking mode.

So far, each of these signals had occurred in pairs, he noted, and the pairs seemed to appear at equal intervals. They seemed to be occurring every three days. If the pattern that he thought was emerging was in fact a real pattern and not just coincidence, two more ghosts should appear three days from now. Until then, he couldn't be sure.

Looking at the third signature that his revised scan of the logs had revealed, Kaji furrowed his brow. Part of his pattern didn't match up with this one. While the signature did appear three days before, on a day when the Children were having a harmonics test, it did not have another signature occurring along with it. Kaji looked at the signature again.

Its signature, he noticed, was slightly different from the other six that had appeared. Not different in that it wasn't an angel signature, but it differed in the way that the other angel's signatures varied from each other. He wasn't supposed to be able to tell that by sight, but he had studied enough classified information to know how much of a variation in the signature meant that it was a different angel. Taking this variation into account, it could mean that his previous pattern had been correct, and that this was an entirely different signature, while the other six were the same signature occurring over and over.

Finally, he looked at the last signature. It was the same as the other one he had just looked at, only that it had occurred months before, at the end of the Fifth Angel's attack. He had still been in Germany then, but he had heard from Misato what had happened, and how Shinji had scalded his hands while rescuing Rei. This seemed to be the first time a phantom signature had occurred. It was the starting point.

With the information he had, there was nothing more that Kaji could uncover. The next step, he decided, was to find out what was happening at the exact moments the signatures occurred. With that information, he might be able to uncover more about what the ghosts actually were. He felt confident that he was the closer than all the others to solving the mystery, even though he wasn't very far himself.

He looked at the clock. It was getting pretty late. He sighed. He had already been on far too long, and Ritsuko might begin to suspect something if she looked at the access logs. He jotted down the dates and times that the signatures occurred on a scrap piece of paper and logged out of the computer.

Standing up, he tucked the piece of paper into the breast pocket of his blue button-up shirt and turned around before walking to the door. Tomorrow he would get deeper into this mystery, and hoped that he might be able to find some clue as to where the signatures had been originating, and, more importantly, where they would occur three days from now.

Shutting the door behind him as he left his office, Kaji began whistling a random tune as he walked through the hallways of NERV, hands in his pockets. Tomorrow would be the day. Tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7: Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter Seven**

Shinji was listening to his SDAT in his room as he tried to go to sleep. The music he listened to always felt so calming as it emptied his mind, and he didn't have to think about anything. That was one reason he always retreated to his SDAT when he was having problems, because they would, for a while at least, be swept away with the music. If they wouldn't be swept away, Shinji just turned up the volume, drowning his problems.

But some things decide that, no matter what, they _will_ be heard.

Shinji jumped straight up when he heard the door to Misato's apartment slam. Misato was already asleep, passed out drunk in her room, so the only person that it could be was Asuka. Shinji saw and heard the light turn on in the kitchen, and he got out of bed. Leaving his room, he crept toward the kitchen.

Asuka was sitting at the table and staring intently at it. Shinji stood in the doorway for a few moments before walking over to the table.

"Um… Hello, Asuka," he said awkwardly. He wasn't really sure how to act after how Asuka had been this afternoon, but he figured that "hello" was safe enough.

However, he got no response from Asuka. She just continued to stare down at the table. Shinji looked at her. Her eyes were open and her breathing to fast for her to be asleep. This wasn't something Asuka normally did, and it worried him, even more so than her earlier actions had.

"Asuka? Are you alright?" he asked.

Still no response.

Shinji stepped back and looked at the redhead sitting sullenly at the table. If Shinji didn't know better, he would have said that she looked depressed. But this was Asuka. She got angry, not depressed. Then again, she had been acting strangely today, so maybe she was depressed. Feeling very awkward, Shinji finally went to the fridge.

"I saved you some dinner," he told her, pulling out a plastic-wrapped plate of fish and rice. Walking back to the table, he placed it down in front of her along with some chopsticks. Walking around the table, he sat down in the chair opposite Asuka.

"Asuka?" he said again when she still didn't acknowledge his presence. He stood up and leaned over the table, getting closer to Asuka. "Asuka?"

When she suddenly snapped her head up and looked at him, Shinji was so startled that he jumped back and fell out of his chair and onto the floor. Recovering from the fall, Shinji groaned as he sat up, massaging the spot in his side that he hurt from falling.

"Idiot."

Shinji opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of Asuka's voice. She was out of her chair and was looking down at him, hand out stretched.

"Well?" she said impatiently, shaking her hand. "You want help or not?"

Cautiously, Shinji took her hand and pulled himself up. Asuka was acting far too nice to him. He must have done something that he wasn't aware of and she was going to make him suffer later. That must be it. Why else would she have suddenly started being so nice to him?

"I'm sorry," Shinji said.

"For what?" Asuka said, sitting down at the table and unwrapping the rice and fish that Shinji had set out earlier. She had gotten sick of having rice as much as they did, but it was far better than having cup ramen. "I startled you and made you fall over, so I should be apologizing to you." She put some rice in her mouth, made a face, and then swallowed. "It's cold." She stood up and walked to the microwave with her plate.

_This is really odd,_ thought Shinji. _The other day, she would have blamed me for it being cold and then made me warm it up. Why is she doing it herself, and why was she so depressed a few moments ago?_

The microwave beeped, interrupting Shinji's pondering, and Asuka returned to the table and began eating from the now steaming plate of rice and fish.

"You see, Shinji," Asuka said through a mouth full of rice before she swallowed. "You apologize for everything even when it's not your fault. It makes people think that you," she pointed the chopsticks at his chest, "are weak, even if you are not." She ate some more rice and then swallowed. "You let people walk all over you when you can prevent them from doing so. You are an Eva pilot. Take pride in it and stop being so… so modest. You, me, and even Wondergirl are superior to the rest of the human race because of the lone fact that we can Pilot Eva's when no one else can. Of course that doesn't mean that we have to act snobby, but being an Eva pilot gives us bragging rights."

Shinji stared in disbelief at Asuka. Of all the things that had happened today, this had to be the most out of the ordinary. He never expected her to lecture him about this and do it _calmly. _If he weren't so stunned, he might have reminded her that it was rude to point at someone with her chopsticks, but he couldn't. He just continued to look at her in stunned awe.

"You," she pointed her chopsticks at him again, "need to learn to stand up to people. You won't even stand up to me. What do you think I've been doing since we met? I've been trying to break you of that habit of saying 'I'm sorry' left and right. It's all been to help you, Shinji." She put her chin in her hands and sighed. "Unfortunately, it only seems to have worsened the problem. I think you've been saying 'I'm sorry' more often of late than ever before.

"Not only that," she continued, "but you and Ayanami have this problem of doing whatever you are told. You two follow orders with no will of your own. When you do that, you're no better than robots. No better than dolls."

Shinji thought that he heard bitterness when Asuka said dolls, and he thought that her eyes tightened for an instant, but he must have imagined it. "But we are supposed to follow orders. If we didn't—"

"I'm not saying that you should go take Eva and do whatever you want," Asuka said as she started in on the fish. "On the contrary, we should follow the orders issued by Misato and the rest. We are here to save the world, aren't we? But what if they gave an order that you knew was wrong; something that you knew shouldn't be done. What then, Shinji? What if they ordered you to attack Ayanami, or me?" She put a little more emphasis on "me", but Shinji was too stunned by her speech to even notice. "If you can't stand up to the little guys, how are you going to stand up to Misato, or the Commander?"

She saw Shinji look down at the table. It had been a gamble, bringing up his father, but she knew that it was a sore spot for him. He didn't like his father at all. She had been thinking about what Hikari had said earlier about Shinji beginning to hate her, but if she could just redirect that hatred towards his father… she might end up getting two birds with one stone: having Shinji grow some backbone without him hating her. But on the flip side, with how Shinji was now, bringing up his father just might make him regress further into his wall of "I'm sorry."

When Shinji looked back up, he said one thing. "I'll think about it."

Asuka grunted, then shrugged. She supposed that it was the best she could get out of him for now. She lifted the plate up and scraped that last bits of food into her mouth. Picking up the plate, she walked over to the sink and deposited it there. Then she walked to the door. "I need to get a little air before I go to sleep," she told Shinji. "I'll be back in a bit."

Shinji nodded, and was about to return to his room, when he suddenly stopped. He still wanted to know where Asuka had been and why she had been so depressed that she didn't even notice him. "Asuka," he asked cautiously. "Would you like me to go with you?"

It might have been his imagination, or maybe the lighting at the moment, but Shinji could have sworn that a blush had appeared on Asuka's cheeks, but it was gone a moment later.

"No," Asuka said. "You go to sleep. I need my space right now."

Shinji nodded and sighed. Well, he wasn't going to find anything out tonight. Asuka was acting to weird for him to go outside with her alone in the dark. He rubbed his chest unconsciously. He still remembered the incident in the Eva cage when she had thrown him into the disinfectant. He didn't blame her at all, and was sure that she hadn't meant to actually hurt him, but that didn't change the fact that she had done so. He didn't want to take the chance that this odd change of personality might mean that she might do something similar again. "Alright, Asuka. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Asuka said before leaving the apartment and shutting the door.

When Shinji returned to his room, he lay down on his bed and put the earphones to his SDAT back in, but he didn't turn the small tape player on. Instead he just lay there and puzzled over what had just happened. If it had only been Asuka acting weird, he might have been able to dismiss it, but some of the things that she had said… they gave him shivers. What _would _he do if an order like that were given? He wouldn't believe that Misato might so something like that, but he wouldn't put it past his father.

If he were ever ordered to harm Rei… what would he do?

* * *

Asuka had her hands pressed against the side of the building and was breathing hard. Sweat trickled down her face and back as she tried to calm her breath. 

_Mein Gott, that was hard,_ Asuka thought. It was so hard to control her actions. She almost yelled at Shinji for the food being cold, almost told him to warm it up, and almost handed him the dirty plate when she was done. She only realized what she was doing a second before she actually completed the action, and she was able to change what she was doing. But it had been hard.

It had taken everything she had to control her anger. She knew people thought that she got angry too much, but she had always thought that they were being unreasonable. Now, after seeing how hard it was to control her anger, she was starting to admit to herself that she might go just a little bit over board. Just a little bit.

But she was happy that Shinji had offered to walk with her. It had made her blush and feel warmth in her chest. But she couldn't let him see her like this. She needed to calm down. Controlling her emotions was so stressful.

"That was impressive, Asuka."

Asuka whipped around at the sound of a voice, looking for the owner. She found Misato standing in the entrance to the apartment building looking at her with her arms folded.

"Misato!" she said in shock. Then in a whisper, "You saw that?"

Misato nodded. "I woke up when I heard a crash come from the kitchen. I went to see what it was, and thought I was still drunk when I saw you helping Shinji up."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asuka demanded of Misato, holding her chin in the air.

"Nothing," Misato said. "It's just that you would normally have told him to get up by himself, but instead you offered him help."

"What's so surprising about that?" Asuka asked. "I can help people if I want to."

"Of course," Misato smiled at her. "That was quite a speech you gave as well. I'm sure Shinji's in his bead thinking over everything you said." Misato's face turned somber. "I sure hope that at least some of it gets through to him."

Asuka looked at Misato. "I thought you said you liked Shinji just how he was?" she told the older woman.

"Oh, I do," she said. "It's just, well, if Shinji doesn't gain enough confidence in himself to stand up to people, I'm not sure how he'll have enough confidence in himself to ever, well…" She glanced at Asuka, and trailed off.

Asuka's face turned red. "What are you saying!" she yelled at Misato. "It's not like I have any interest in him! I'm just trying to help him, as a friend!"

Misato smiled again. "Of course. As a friend." Misato looked up at the sky for a moment, worrying about Shinji. He hadn't eaten much for dinner. Even though she had been drunk, Misato remembered that. Shinji hadn't touched his fish and only ate a little rice. She sure hoped everything was alright with him. "As his _friend_," Misato said, and then she looked at Asuka again, "you might want a little more information on why Shinji acts the way he does."

"What? You know why he always apologizes like that?" Asuka asked.

"I may be completely wrong," she said, "but I think that I've known Shinji long enough to at least make an educated guess about why." She stopped talking.

"Well?" Asuka said, her stress from earlier gone and replaced with anticipation. If she knew why Shinji acted like he did, she might find a way to change him.

Misato looked at her for a moment before answering. "I may be wrong," she said again, "but I think that it hurts him to think that others are at fault. That's why he always blames himself and always apologizes for things that aren't his fault." Misato looked at Asuka for a minute, considering. "I don't know if Shinji told you," Misato said at last, "but when his mother died, his father sent him away to live with his teachers. His father abandoned him, and at the time, there were all sorts of rumors that the commander had killed his wife, Shinji's mother."

Asuka's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. Shinji had told her that his father had sent him away, but never about the rumors. She suddenly remembered taunting him about kissing on the anniversary of his mother's death, and for one of the few times in her life, she felt ashamed of herself. The words "mother" and "killed" were ringing in her head, but she pushed them away, not wanting to think about it.

Misato kept talking. "Have you noticed that the only one he hates is his father?" She looked up at the sky. "Shinji never had a father figure in his life, or a mother figure either. I've been trying to act like a mother figure for him, but I don't know if I'm doing any good or not. But I think that Shinji regrets not having a good relationship with his father. You remember when I took you all out for dinner after the tenth angel? You remember how happy Shinji was that his father praised him?"

Asuka nodded.

"It hurts Shinji to hate his father, and that's why he always takes blame of things on him self, so that he doesn't have to hate anyone else for anything. He didn't even blame you for—" Misato cut off, realizing what she was about to say.

Asuka looked at the ground and clenched her fist. She knew what Misato was going to say, but she needed to control her anger. She needed practice if she was going to control in front of Shinji.

Misato smiled, knowing what Asuka was thinking. _Just his friend, eh?_ "Anyway" she said. "Shinji doesn't want to believe other people capable of being bad, so he always blames himself. That way, he is the only one at fault. I'm just afraid of what this might do to him in the future." Misato unfolded her arms and looked around. "I'm going back to sleep." She turned to the door and began walking in, but then she stopped. "Asuka," she said without looking around, "You see how hard it is to control your emotions. If Shinji can control his enough to never be angry with anybody, he might just be one of the strongest people living. But even the strongest man alive will collapse if the weight gets too heavy." She walked into the apartment and went up back to her room.

Asuka continued to stand there outside. She had never thought about any of that before, least of all how hard it must be for Shinji to control his emotions. And she had always been provoking him, making it harder for him to control them. She hoped that she hadn't done too much damage.

And then there were the rumors about his father killing his mother. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than what happened to her mother.

Suddenly she let out a laugh. Anyone walking by might have thought she was insane, but Asuka was completely taken by the absurdity of one fact that had eluded her until now. Both of their mothers had died, maybe both had even been _killed_, but Shinji and her were almost complete opposites. She preferred to hate people, and Shinji preferred to hate himself. Two completely different paths stemming from the death of someone close to them.

Asuka laughed into the night. She wasn't sure when her laughs became sobs, or when tears started to pour from her eyes, but by the time she went back to the apartment, she had been completely engulfed by memories she would have rather left buried.

* * *

Shinji slowly crept toward the kitchen the next day, already dressed for school. He wasn't sure how Asuka would act this morning, but he didn't want to take any chances. He peaked out into the kitchen, but Asuka wasn't there, just Misato sitting at the table in her uniform, drinking from a can of beer. Shinji stepped out into the kitchen. 

"I'm ready, where Asuka?" he asked.

"She's taken off already. It would seem that she doesn't want to face us right now," she said as she took a sip from her can.

Shinji knitted his eyebrows. "But why?" he asked in confusion.

Misato just sighed. _I don't think Asuka would be too happy if I told him about what happened last night. _"A teenage girl can be difficult to understand, Shinji." Then she thought about something else: the pilot of Unit Three. She didn't want to tell him, rather she didn't know how to tell him, but he had a right to know.

"By the way—" she started to say, but Shinji spoke at the same time.

"Well—"

They both cut off what they were saying.

Misato inwardly sighed with relief. "Go ahead." She said.

Shinji was quiet for a moment, but there was something he needed to ask. He hadn't thought much about it yesterday because of the strange way Asuka and Rei had been acting, but now what Kensuke had said came back to him. "Are the rumors about Unit Four really true? I heard that there was some kind of accident and it exploded," he eventually asked.

Misato sighed again. She knew that couldn't have been kept a secret for long. "Yes I'm afraid so. Unit Four is gone, along with the second branch of NERV. It happened while they were testing the S2 Engine." She saw a panicked look cross Shinji's face. "But don't worry, we'll be all right. All three of our Evas are functioning properly and our pilots and staff are in good shape, too," she tried to reassure him.

Shinji nodded. There was something else he needed to know. "I also heard that Unit Three is being brought here. Your performing the activation test at Matsushiro, aren't you?"

Misato stiffened. This was getting close to the subject she was trying to avoid. But she nodded and tried to act calm about it. "Uh-huh. I'm leaving tonight and I'll be out for about four days or so, but don't worry. Kaji is coming over to take care of you guys."

"But don't we have a harmonics test?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, Ritsuko will be supervising everything, there won't be any problems."

Shinji nodded. "And who will be the pilot?"

Misato froze. That was the question that she had wanted to avoid. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. But she knew that he would find out sooner or later.

"Well, the pilot is..." she said slowly, trailing off, leaving an awkward silence.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Yes?" Shinji said as he began walking to the door.

Misato looked up at the ceiling and silently mouthed "thank you" before she followed Shinji to the door.

Shinji opened the door just as she reached, and she saw a frantic-faced Kensuke.

"Good morning. Major Katsuragi!" he shouted. "I've come to ask for your help!" then he bent himself at a ninety-degree angle before continuing. "I'm begging you, please, please, you've just got to choose me as the pilot for Evangelion Unit Three. You gotta!"

Misato grimaced. Somehow, this just wasn't the diversion she had been hoping for. "I'm sorry, Kensuke," she said. "But it's not my place to make that decision."

"Oh," Kensuke said, righting himself and looking miserable. "You were my last hope."

Misato was feeling nervous that Shinji might remember his question about the pilot, so she said, "Hey Shinji, Kensuke, you two will be late for school if you don't hurry up, and I've got to get to work, see ya!" Then she dashed out of her apartment and headed for the stairs. Now she had more time before she had to tell Shinji about the pilot.

Several angry drivers later, Misato was parking her car in front of NERV headquarters. Getting out of the car, she locked it and headed for the gates, swiping her card to get through.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite major," Kaji said as Misato stepped in.

Misato turned her head and looked at him. He was leaning back against the wall in the black jacket that he wore during work instead of his usual blue button-up short-sleeved shirt and tie, but he never seemed to loose that grin, nor the ever present stubble on his chin.

"You _are_ going to behave yourself tonight, aren't you Kaji? I don't need Shinji picking up any of your habits," she told him.

"My habits?" Kaji said with a toothy grin. "I'm surprised he's not a raging drunk after living with you this long."

Misato just glared at him. "Anyway, behave yourself. I'm leaving them in your care for several days."

"No worries, Misato," Kaji said. "I'll treat them as if they were my own flesh and blood."

Misato let out a small, un-amused laugh. She wasn't entirely sure that was the answer she was looking for, but she was too stressed out to argue with Kaji. She turned and began walking down the corridor.

"You didn't tell him yet, did you?" he said as she was walking away, stopping her in mid-step.

Misato turned and looked at him, glaring, and then she sighed. "I know I should, but I just don't seem able to do it."

Kaji stopped leaning against the wall and walked to her. "Asuka knows," he said. "She happened to see the sync-data reports last night."

Misato nodded. "That might be part of why she was acting strangely yesterday," she said, mostly to herself. "Rei probably knows as well."

"I don't doubt that," Kaji said. Then he leaned back against the wall. "Well, there is always the chance that one of them will tell him, but I'm not sure how much he'd like you keeping it a secret from him."

"So, Shinji still doesn't know, huh?" Ritsuko said as she walked up to them, having caught the tail end of their conversation.

Misato turned around and regarded the blond doctor. "I just can't find a chance to tell him. I'm worried, sometimes I just can't figure out what he's thinking about."

"Oh, get a grip kid, you're the one who wanted to be his guardian," Ritsuko told her.

Misato sighed and glanced at Kaji. He just grinned at her and offered no help. "Yeah, you're right of course. Um, so, when will you acquire the new pilot? He's coming with us to the testing site tonight, right?"

Ritsuko nodded. "We're picking him up tonight when we leave. There are still a few details to be ironed out."

"Maybe the new pilot will tell Shinji himself," Misato said, brightening.

"Oh, I rather doubt it," Ritsuko told her. "This one wasn't very enthused about the prospect at all. He won't talk. He only accepted under the condition that his younger sister be transferred into our private hospital."

As soon as Misato heard that, her eyes narrowed. "Ritsuko," she said through clenched teeth.

"Hmm?" Ritsuko said, looking straight at Misato as if she knew what was going through the major's mind.

"I asked you whether or not we could get his sister transferred to the hospital," Misato said while grinding her teeth.

"Yes," Ritsuko said, "and I'm very glad that you did. Otherwise, we may have never gotten him to agree to pilot Unit Three."

The two women stared at each other, and Kaji was feeling uncomfortable. He had often heard how testosterone driven fights were violent, but in his experience, estrogen made for more furious battles.

"Well," he said, trying to make his exit. "I'm off. Alleged ghost sightings and related supernatural occurrences have been reported across the Kanto and Chubu regions, surrounding the Tokai district. So who ya gonna call?" He gave the two a grin, turned on his heal, and strode away.

Misato and Ritsuko looked after him like he was crazy. Niether recognized the reference to the 1984 _Ghostbusters_ movie, nor the fact that he was talking about the phantom angel signatures. But it did serve to lessen the tension between the two women. They looked at each other once more, and then passed each other, heading towards their separate destinations.

_I won't be able to overlook this sort of thing forever, Ritsuko,_ Misato thought angrily. _I'm not sure how much more I can take._

* * *

Shinji walked into class just moments before the bell rang. Unconsciously, his eyes immediately sought out Rei. She was sitting at her desk, but instead of staring out the window as she usually did, she was starring straight at him. Face turning red, Shinji quickly averted his gaze and looked for Asuka. 

He frowned. She wasn't anywhere in the room, and her desk didn't even have her portfolio on it. Misato had said that she left earlier, but she wasn't at school yet, and the bell had already rung.

His attention was suddenly diverted when Kensuke solemnly pushed passed him and slumped into his seat. He had been like this all the way to school, and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.

"How can Misato be so cruel?" he moaned to Touji who was sitting in the next seat. "I'm dying to be pilot, so why won't she use me, even as a backup pilot, it's just not fair."

"Huh?" Touji without really realizing what Kensuke had said. "Yeah." He had too much on his mind at the moment.

Shinji looked at down at the depressed Kensuke. "She can't just pick you to be the pilot," he told him. "She doesn't even make that decision. Some place called the Marduk Institute picks the pilots out. At least I think so." Shinji had always wondered what the Marduk Institute was, and how they had chosen him. He had never heard of it before he piloted the Eva.

The door slid open, and Shinji turned around to see who it was. Asuka walked in.

"Hey what's up?" he asked her. "I mean, you left before me, but your getting here late."

Asuka was about to answer Shinji, when Touji interrupted.

"Oh, no fight between the newly-weds, today?" he said, though half-heartedly. However, it was enough to make Asuka snap at him. She turned to glare at Touji.

"I just didn't want to see your ugly face!" she yelled at him, shaking her fist. "You damn stooge!" Then she turned around and stomped to her seat next to Hikari, who was worried about her friend as well as a bit upset that she yelled at Touji. Asuka sat down in her seat and folded her arms, glaring straight ahead. After what she had seen last night, Touji's presence was enough to put her in a fowl mood.

Shinji looked after Asuka, wondering what was wrong. She had been so depressed last night, not to mention her strange behavior toward him lately, and he was worried about her. He hoped nothing was wrong with her.

Suddenly, the teacher walked in and Shinji had to scramble into his seat. Hikari stood up and had them bow before the teacher began talking, once again, about how Second Impact was started when a meteor struck the Earth. It was a bit boring for Shinji, of course, since he knew the truth, but he had to live with it.

His mind wandering, Shinji turned to look at Rei, and found her staring intently at him. He quickly sat up rigidly and looked forward, and stayed like that for most of the class.

* * *

Kaji locked the door behind him as he stepped into his office. He couldn't afford to have someone walking in on him like Asuka had done last night. He cursed himself again for that slip-up, and then sat down at his chair and turned on the computer. 

It took him only a few moments to login with Ritsuko access codes, which he mentally thanked her for, though she would be undoubtedly upset to learn of it. Once he was completely logged in, he opened up the MAGI's master log, and pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket. He quickly started a search for what was happening at the exact times that the phantom signatures were detected.

It took only a few seconds for the MAGI to process the search and bring up results. Kaji slowly looked for anything out of the ordinary. He decided to start with the most recent and work backwards.

Looking at what was happening yesterday at the time the signatures were detected, Kaji frowned. There was nothing out of the ordinary that the MAGI detected, aside from a small error that came up on the second signature that had occurred. As it stood, Kaji couldn't see any event that connected the two signatures. The search wasn't off to a good start.

Slowly, he moved his eyes over next two, and was delighted that at least one of them had something that didn't normally happen on a day-to-day basis. While the second signature from that day held the same sort of things that the two from yesterday did, the first signature had occurred at the exact moment that Unit One began to sink into the twelfth angel. This didn't tell him anything, of course, but if he some of the other signatures had events like this; he might be able to find something.

Kaji felt that his bad start was just a fluke when he looked at the first of the next pair of signatures that had occurred. The MAGI detected two foreign objects in the disinfectant that resided in the Eva cages. Kaji wasn't sure what to make of this, but at least it was better than what three of the other signatures had given him.

The second signature that had occurred only minutes later that day hadn't been something that the MAGI recorded, but rather, and event that was in Ritsuko's manual logs. Ritsuko had been taking Shinji to the emergency room when it occurred.

Kaji knew that everything he had seen so far might have absolutely nothing to do with the phantom signatures, but it was at least something to go on.

There were only two more signatures to check now, and they were the ones that came from a different angel than the first six he had checked. He was dismayed when the first one didn't tell him anything, but he supposed that it was to be expected. After all, three of the six signatures from the other angel hadn't yielded anything either.

The computer beeped as he brought up the final signature that had happened many months ago. When he saw it, his eyes widened, and he leaned in close to the monitor.

"Now that's interesting," he said as a grin began to spread itself across his face. "Very interesting."

* * *

"Ah, the precious moment of lunchtime," Kensuke said as he sat down. His eyes passed over Touji's desk and he did a double take. "Hey? Where's Touji?" he said, turning back to Shinji. 

Shinji looked at Touji's desk and then back at Kensuke, shrugging. "I haven't seen him," he said.

"You mean he left?" Kensuke said, surprised. "Without his lunch? Touji the stomach! That's impossible."

Shinji shrugged again, and looked at Touji's desk. "Well, he's been acting different lately." Shinji was a bit worried about his friend, but it was probably none of his business, and Touji wouldn't want him asking questions anyway. _I hope his sister is all right._ Shinji remembered that he had promised to visit Touji's sister, and he hadn't been over there for several days. He should go and see her this afternoon.

Shinji looked around for Rei. He wanted to eat with her again like he had done a few days ago. He would have done so yesterday, but he had been far too occupied with getting away from Kensuke. However, she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Have you seen Rei?" he asked Kensuke, turning back to him.

Kensuke shook his head. "She must have left somewhere." Suddenly, a sly look came across his face. "You don't suppose she's with Touji do you? Maybe they…" He trailed off under Shinji's glare. "I was just joking," he mumbled under his breath.

Shinji stopped glaring at Kensuke and turned to his food. He wasn't too worried. He knew that Touji liked Hikari, and he knew that Touji was trying to help him with Rei. There was only one thing that was bothering him. Even after Rei had spontaneously hugged him the other day, he still wasn't sure what that meant. He wanted to believe that it meant she liked him, badly, but he just wasn't sure. Or rather, he was confident enough in himself to take the next step.

He frowned at his food. He hoped Kensuke was wrong. Rei had been looking at him this morning, hadn't she? Or was she looking at the seat over a little bit? But she had hugged him yesterday… His mind was in chaos at the moment. He didn't even want to think about the possibility, as he was having enough trouble as is. He lifted up his lunch and started shoveling rice into his bowl, trying not to think.

However, there was one person that was more self-doubting that Shinji at the moment, something that, in all likely hood, was as improbable as Asuka apologizing, and that person was Hikari. She had overheard the last part of what Shinji and Kensuke had said, and she was worried.

When lunchtime had started, Hikari had immediately looked around for Touji so that she could give him the lunch she had prepared especially for him, but she hadn't been able to find them. And now he might be off somewhere with Rei…

Hikari looked down at the lunch she had prepared for Touji and covered it with her hands as she sank down in her seat at the thought. Normally, this wouldn't have worried her so much, but after the questions that Rei had asked her the other day, Hikari was really starting to worry. Touji could have been the one that Rei said was making her blush. If Rei confessed to him…

Suddenly Hikari stood up, clutching Touji's lunch in her hands. She had to go find him.

Asuka looked at Hikari with surprise. She had never seen such a determined look on her face. "What's up with you?" she asked.

"Nothing," Hikari told her. "I'll be right back Asuka!" Hikari dashed out of the room.

"Hey!" Asuka yelled after Hikari, standing up from her seat before chasing after her. "Wait!"

By the time Asuka got to the door, Hikari was already out of sight.

* * *

Rei pushed open the door that leads to the roof. Seconds before, she had seen Shinji's friend, Touji, take the stairs that lead up to the roof, and she needed to talk to him. She had decided early that morning that she would ask one of Shinji's friends some questions about what she felt. She had immediately dismissed the Second Child from her list of candidates, and Kensuke soon after. That only left Touji. 

When she realized whom it was she needed to talk to, another thought had come into her head. Shinji didn't like the Evas, and he piloted it so that she and others didn't have to. Touji was his friend, and Rei didn't know how learning about what Touji was going to do would affect him. She became worried about Shinji.

Stepping out onto the roof, she saw Touji leaning against the fence and looking out over the school. She took a step towards him.

"Mr. Suzuhara," she said quietly.

"Huh?" Touji said, looking around. "Oh, it's you, Ayanami." He turned back and looked out over If you're looking for Shinji, he's not here."

Rei just nodded, thought Touji couldn't see it.

"You know, don't you?" he said. "About everything? I think Asuka knows, too."

Rei nodded again, knowing what he was referring to. "Yes," she told him.

Touji nodded as if he had expected nothing less. "So, Shinji's the only one who doesn't know."

"You have not told him?" Rei asked, though she already knew the answer.

Touji shook his head. "No, I haven't. I'm not sure how he will react. I told him once that I would never pilot one of those things even to save my life, and I know he doesn't want other people suffering the same thing he does."

Rei nodded again. "But if he does not know, learning later may cause him pain."

Touji let out a small laugh. "You know it's pretty rare, for you to be concerned about someone else."

"It is?" Rei said, feeling confused. "I'm not sure I understand."

Touji laughed again. "You really like him, don't you? You sure have a thing for Shinji, alright," he said. He meant it for himself, but Rei over heard him.

"I?" she said, blushing, but since Touji wasn't facing her, he didn't see. This was the first time that the fact had been stated by anyone. She had of course seriously considered the possibility, but she could never be sure. She had come here to get some answers regarding that, and he just gave it to her. "Maybe that is true."

Touji nodded again, and without looking back at her, he said, "You do."

That was the confirmation the Rei needed. Now she knew that she loved Shinji. Other people could see it even. She was going to tell Shinji how she felt soon.

Suddenly she frowned. Touji had noticed that she was behaving differently. If he had noticed, maybe others had noticed as well, such as Dr. Akagi, or the Commander. And if they hadn't, Touji might tell them. She knows that once she tells Shinji what she feels, it won't be long before the commander finds out, but she didn't want them to know before hand. She might lose her chance to tell Shinji. Rei took a few steps forward.

"Suzuhara," she said.

"Hm?" Touji said. She had been quiet for a while so he had forgotten that she was there.

"Do not tell anyone about this," she said. She simply stated the fact. She had never asked anyone to do anything except for Shinji. For everyone else, she just commanded.

Though she hadn't specified what "this" was, Touji knew, and he nodded. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning to anyway."

Rei nodded again, and she turned to leave.

* * *

Hikari slowly walked down the stairs from the roof. She had heard it. Rei had asked Touji not to tell anyone. Hikari had immediately connected that with how Rei was acting yesterday. She wished she could have been there earlier, that way she could have known what Touji said to her. She couldn't ask him now, she just couldn't! She heard the door to the roof open and shut as someone came down the steps. 

When Rei saw her, she stopped for a moment. "What you told me yesterday was helpful," she said. "I… appreciate it." Her mouth twisted around the unfamiliar words, be she said them. Then she turned and continued walking.

Hikari felt numb. For her, that confirmed what she had been thinking. Rei must like Touji, must have confessed to him. Hikari's hands tightened on the lunch box. Steeling herself, she walked up the stairs.

* * *

Touji heard the door open and close behind him a second time, before footsteps. Thinking that Rei had come back, he said, "Was there anything else, Ayanami?" he asked. 

The footsteps stopped, and suddenly he heard running feet before the door closed again. Touji turned around confused. _That defiantly wasn't Ayanami,_ he thought. Looking behind him, he noticed a small bento lunch box on the ground. Confused, he went to pick it up.

It was nicely made, and there was more than enough food. He looked around again, though he new that the owner had left. _Well, if someone is going to leave a perfectly good lunch here…_ He went back to the fence and began eating.

* * *

Asuka was out of breath when she found Hikari slowly walking down the hall. She walked up to her. "There you are," she said in an exasperated voice. "I've been looking all over for you. Let's go eat lunch together." 

Hikari looked up at Asuka. "What? Oh. Okay," she said.

Asuka looked crossways at her friend. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Hikari smiled at Asuka. "Yes," she said in a semi-cheerful voice. "I'm fine."

Asuka wasn't convinced. But she decided not to push the issue. The lunch period was almost over and they hadn't eaten yet. She would help her friend later.

* * *

Misato opened the door to Ritsuko's office and walked up to the doctor. "He's over two hours late," late she said before she sighed. "But at last he's finally here. This is the first time, I've ever waited for someone this long." 

Ritsuko reluctantly took off her glasses and moved away from the computer screen. She had been reprogramming the MAGI, some parts from the ground up, all night, and she wasn't anywhere near finished. She looked up at Misato and said, "That's because you never waited for guys." She paused and then smirked. "Back when you could still get a date."

Misato growled at her friend, "Oh, shut up."

Ritsuko laughed and stood up from her chair and winced. The bottom sides of both her legs felt numb, and the muscles further down on her leg were sore. She had been sitting in that position for nigh on an entire day now, without any sleep. Well, at least she could sleep on the flight to Matsushiro, if not much.

"Are you ready to go?" Misato asked her.

"Yes," Ritsuko nodded.

As they were walking down the hallway, they ran into Kaji.

"Ah," he said. "Just who I wanted to see! I dare say that NERV gives quite a send off."

Misato rolled her eyes at Kaji's sarcastic tone. "You will be at my apartment with Shinji and Asuka tonight, right Kaji?" she asked.

Kaji waved his hand. "No worries Misato. Everything will be perfectly fine in my hands."

Misato grunted as if she weren't too sure about that.

Ritsuko smiled at the too. Idly, she put her hand into her pocket and it closed around something. Surprised, she pulled the black, rectangular object out and looked at it. Her eyebrows rose when she remembered what it was. She dropped it back into her pocket before Kaji or Misato could see it.

"I'll be right back," she told them, "I forgot something in my office." She turned and started walking back the way she and Misato had come.

Misato watched her friend go and yelled, "Hurry up!"

Ritsuko waved a hand over her head and back at Misato in acknowledgement.

Misato turned back to Kaji. "You'd better behave yourself with Shinji and Asuka tonight," she said. "And make sure Asuka is okay. She's been trying to control her actions lately, but I'm afraid of what might happen if she tries to hard."

Kaji nodded. "Don't worry, I will." Then he looked over Misato's head and around the corridor. Finding no one, he bent down and put his mouth next to her ear.

Misato tried to pull away, misunderstanding his intentions, but she stopped when he spoke.

"Misato," he whispered. His voice was serious, and Misato knew that she wasn't trying to flirt with her right now. She felt a bit disappointed, but quickly squashed that feeling.

"What?" she asked.

"I've been researching the phantom signatures that have been appearing recently, and if I'm right, one of them is going to appear the day after tomorrow, and every three days after that."

Misato looked at him. "That's the day we are going to activate Unit Three for the first time," she said.

Kaji nodded, "I know."

Misato sighed. "Somehow I'm not surprised." Then her voice returned to seriousness. "Have you told anyone about this?" she asked.

Kaji shook his head. "I can't. I was only able to guess this much from information I gathered with Ritsuko's access codes."

Misato's eyes widened and she hit him on the head. "Idiot! What if someone caught you?"

Kaji rubbed his head. "I'm hurt, Misato. And I don't mean this lump on my head you just gave me. Do you really think that I would be stupid enough to get caught?" Inwardly he grimaced, remembering how Asuka had nearly discovered him, but he wouldn't make that same mistake again.

"Alright, fine," she said. They were both still talking in whispers. "But what do we do about it?"

"I think it will be fine," Kaji whispered back to her. "As far as I can tell, they phantoms aren't doing anything. I'm going to be watching all the sensors very carefully that day. Just thought I'd let you know." Then he leaned in and tried to kiss her.

Misato dodged it of course, and Kaji missed and fell on the ground. She laughed at him. "If only everyone were here to see you now," she said.

Kaji looked up from the floor and frowned at her. "That wasn't nice, Misato," he said, before grabbing her legs and pulling her down with him.

* * *

As soon as Ritsuko entered her office, she locked the door behind her. Walking over to the small television that sat near the computer monitors, Ritsuko pulled the object she had found in her pocket. 

She had forgotten about it because of all the excitement over the phantom signatures yesterday, but she was glad that she noticed it now, even if it meant she was going to make them even later than they already were. Yesterday, when she had gone to the school to _ask_ the Fourth Child to Pilot Unit Three, she had made a small detour on her way. The way Rei had been acting the previous week had made Ritsuko suspicious, and she needed to find out why Rei seemed overly concerned with Shinji.

She had stopped at Misato's apartment and searched Shinji's room for any sign of Rei being there. She hadn't found anything, but just as she was leaving, something on a small bed stand had caught her eye. It was a videotape. She was going to leave it there, but she had a feeling that she should take a closer look at it. That was when she saw what it was labeled.

_Shinji and Ayanami, Part 1_

_By Kensuke Aida_

She had immediately taken the tape and intended to watch it when she finished at the school, but the signatures had distracted her and she had forgotten all about the tape. Until now.

Putting the tape into the VCR that rested beneath the television, Ritsuko began to watch the contents of the tape and a frown began to spread across her face. The longer she watched, the bigger her frown got. Finally, she paused the tape, but she didn't stop staring at the now frozen screen. What she had just seen was most… unfortunate. She would have to take steps to separate the First and Third Child.

There wasn't anything on the tape to confirm that Shinji and Rei were in a relationship, but there was enough to suggest it. Coupled with Rei holding Shinji's hand in the elevator when Asuka had nearly drowned him, and them both being together at the grocery store, plus a slew of other things, Ritsuko didn't doubt what her instinct told her. Having Rei and Shinji spending an entire class looking back and forth at each other was definitely not a good sign.

She looked down in the corner and saw the time and date, and she grimaced. The tape had been recorded almost a week ago, before either of the things that had originally roused her suspicion. She wasn't sure how much their relationship might have grown since then, and she did not like it.

She ejected the tape and put it in her pocket. If this "Part One" was a week or so ago, she was rather worried what "Part Two" might contain. It wasn't Shinji glancing at Rei that made her worried, but Rei glancing at Shinji. It just shouldn't have been possible. There had been numerous safeguards against this sort of thing, so why had they all failed?

No, she was imagining things. There was just no way that a relationship between the two could happen. But still… She would need to speak with Rei.

She shook her head and turned to the door. There was nothing she could do about it at the moment, but as soon as they finished with the testing of Unit Three, she was going to talk with Rei. She needed to be absolutely sure that nothing was happening between the two. Even if something was, nothing could happen in the few days that they were gone, she was sure, and from what she knew of Shinji's character, he wouldn't be able to tell Rei he was interested in her. _If he really is interested in her,_ Ritsuko mentally added.

The Fourth Child had said that nothing had changed between the two, she remembered, but perhaps he hadn't noticed. If he had, then he must have lied to her—known that she wouldn't approve of it—and had tried to cover for Shinji. _Stupid boy!_ she thought angrily at Touji. _He doesn't know the consequences of what might happen… but then again he might not of lied. Nothing _can _change between them. It's just not possible._

Shutting the door behind her, Ritsuko began walking back to where Misato and Kaji were waiting for her. She was thinking the entire matter over in her head. If indeed things turned out to be… unfortunate, she needed a backup plan. _Kensuke Aida…_ The name sounded familiar. _Didn't Misato say that he's been begging to work for NERV? That he'd do anything?_

A slow smile crawled across Ritsuko's face as a plan occurred to her.

"What are you grinning about?" Misato asked her when Ritsuko came into sight.

"I think I just thought of a solution to a problem I seem to have," Ritsuko told Misato. "Shall we go?"

"Before I bid you farewell," Kaji said to the two, "there is something I'd like to know, Ritsu."

Ritsuko turned and looked at Kaji. "What is it?"

"There is something I'd like to do for Shinji, to boost his confidence a little, you know," he started.

"And why do you need to tell me this?" she asked, baffled at his question.

"Well, I'd just like to know if the entry plug that he got Rei out of during the fifth angel attack was around anywhere. Thought I'd make him a plaque or something out of the hatch."

Ritsuko looked at Kaji, studying him. She knew that he wasn't the simple NERV Special Forces employee that he pretended to be, but she couldn't see what harm allowing him to see the entry plug would do. Still, she didn't like the thought of anything that connected Shinji and Rei at the moment. _No,_ she shook her head. _There isn't anything between them._ She shrugged. "It's in one of our storehouses. I'll look it up for you when I get back." She turned to leave, but Kaji stopped her.

"I really wanted to give it to him before the day after tomorrow," he said.

"Why?" Ritsuko asked. The day after tomorrow? He could have said tomorrow. Why did he word it that way? Well, Kaji did have his odd quirks, she supposed, like saying that she was chasing ghosts.

"Well, I thought that I might have a guys night out with him and his friends while Misato was away. Get a few drinks, check out some girls, you know the usual." He felt Misato looming over him from behind, no doubt glaring at him, but he needed this information from Ritsuko.

Ritsuko studied him for a moment, and then shrugged. There really was no harm in letting him see the entry plug. "Alright, its entry number A524," she said, picking the number straight out of her memory. "Give it to Maya, and she should be able to get you its location. Just don't touch anything while you're in the warehouse."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he grinned at her. He straightened up. "Well, I've kept you ladies long enough. Ciao." He turned on his heel and walked down the hall, whistling the theme to _Ghostbusters_.

Both women stared after him, and Misato grumbled. "He better not give Shinji any of his habits," she said under her breath.

"Hmm, Misato? I seem to recall that you once were thrilled at most of Kaji's… habits as you call them," she said smirking at her friend.

Misato glared at Ritsuko. "That was along time ago, and besides, I don't want Shinji to have to go through some of that stuff."

"You've become quite the mother to him," Ritsuko noted.

Misato shook her head. "I've tried, since he essentially lost both his mother and father back when he's a kid, but I don't think I've been doing very well."

Ritsuko was quiet for a moment. Then she looked at her watch. "Oh! We had better get going, where already late enough as it is."

"Yeah," Misato agreed. Her mind was only half on the mission to come though. She had caught what Kaji said about needing the location of the entry plug before the day after tomorrow, when the angle signature was supposed to occur again. But what did that entry plug have to do with the angel signatures?

Misato and Ritsuko both walked in silent, each engulfed in their own thoughts.

* * *

"School is finally over!" Kensuke said as he stood up, yawning. 

"Yeah," Shinji said as he looked over at Rei. She was still sitting at her desk and looking out the window, and like yesterday, she seemed to be waiting for something.

"It was odd that Touji never came back after lunch," Kensuke said. "I wonder where he went. Any ideas Shinji? Shinji?"

Shinji wasn't responding. He was too busy looking at Rei to hear Kensuke calling to him. Shinji felt that whenever he looked at Rei like this, he felt peaceful. It was like when he was close to her, but not as strong.

His peacefulness was interrupted as he felt a heavy object land on his head. Kensuke had dropped his history book on Shinji's head to get his attention.

"Listen, I know you are love struck, but the least you can do is listen to me after you took my tape yesterday," Kensuke told him. "How did you get it without me seeing, anyway?"

"What?" Shinji said, rubbing his head. "I don't know why you didn't see it, I took it out right there in front of you."

"Well you caused me a lot of grief you know, that tape alone was worth a lot. I had already given you Part One, why couldn't you be happy with that?" Kensuke wined, still grieving over his lost tape.

"Part One?" Shinji asked. He didn't know what Kensuke was talking about.

"Yeah, Part One. You remember, back when Ayanami kept looking at you during class. You have the tape!"

"Oh yeah," Shinji said. He vaguely remembered taking the tape from Kensuke that day. He had put it on his bedside table and forgotten about it. "I forgot."

Kensuke sighed. "Oh well, I guess that there is nothing for it." He slumped down at his table. Now that his mind was off of his tape, it had slipped back to more depressing matters. "They are going to be testing Unit Three in a few days. Why, oh why wasn't I chosen as a pilot? The world must hate me."

"Kensuke," Shinji said hesitantly. "It's not something to be sad about. I'd rather not pilot Eva, but I have to."

"You can only say that because you were chosen as a pilot," Kensuke sniffled. "I wasn't even considered."

Shinji sighed and shook his head. His friend was far two obsessed with the military, NERV, and the Evas for Shinji to ever convince him that he was better off as a civilian and not a pilot. He went back to staring at Rei.

While he was looking at her, he remembered that he was going to visit the other Rei at the hospital today, and he wondered if his Rei would want to go with him. Touji had said that he wanted her to have more visitors. He walked over to her.

"Ayanami?" he said to get her attention. He was a bit hesitant, not sure of what would happen after she hugged him yesterday, but he went ahead all the same.

Rei looked away from the window and at Shinji. "Yes, Ikari?" she said. She had been looking at him all day, but for some reason she kept turning away whenever he looked at her. She had blushed twice this morning when he had seen her doing so, and she didn't want him to think that she was odd.

"Um…" Shinji said. He still wasn't good at asking her things, especially after she spontaneously hugged him yesterday. "I'm going to visit Touji's sister at the hospital today, and I was wondering if would like to go with me." It sounded too much like he was asking her out on a date to him, but he couldn't help that. "She has the same name as you."

Rei looked at him for a moment. "I would like that very much, Ikari," she said. "There is also something I wish to speak with you about later."

Shinji nodded. _What does she want to talk with me about?_ he thought, but he figured that he would find out soon enough. "Let's go."

Rei nodded and then stood up, holding her book bag.

"I'll carry that for you," Shinji suddenly said on impulse.

Rei felt a warm feeling in her chest and that tug again. _I do love Shinji,_ she thought. _Suzuhara was right._ She gave Shinji her bag. "Thank you," she said, still unused to using such words. _I will tell him later. I will._

Shinji felt happy as he left the room with Rei.

* * *

Asuka, however, was not happy. She had just seen Shinji's little episode with Rei, and it put her in a fowl mood. If not for her honest attempt at trying to control her anger, she would have run after him and started yelling at him. She turned to Hikari. 

"Let's go," she said. She still needed to find out why Hikari had been acting so depressed at lunch. It wasn't like her, and Asuka didn't like the change she was seeing in her friend.

"What?" Hikari said. "Oh. Okay, Asuka."

Asuka sighed. Hikari had been like that ever since lunch. She was always startled when Asuka said something two her. She wasn't listening to anything, but seemed to be in deep thought about something.

They walked in silence out of and away from the school. Asuka couldn't stand it, especially since not talking got her thinking about Shinji and Rei leaving school together. Shinji had even offered to carry Rei's portfolio. And she _accepted!_ Asuka ground her teeth together as she tried not to think about it.

She had convinced herself that the doll had only given Shinji her portfolio because she thought it had been a command, and that there was nothing else for her. After all, dolls couldn't feel. But Shinji, she was worried that he was feeling something for the doll. He was being nicer to Rei of late than he used to, and it worried Asuka. That doll didn't deserve him.

Spotting a vending machine, Asuka stopped Hikari. "Hold on, I want something to drink," she said. _And something to keep my mind off of Shinji._ Hikari sat the bench that was nearby as Asuka walked up to the machine.

Once she had selected her drink, a box of some sort of juice, Asuka went back to the bench and sat next to Hikari. She ripped off the plastic that covered the straw that came with the drink, and stuck it into the box before she began drinking, trying desperately all the while to think of other things, like why Hikari was acting all depressed.

"I'm sorry, Asuka," a voice said. For a moment, Asuka thought it was Shinji until she realized that Hikari had said it. "You usually walk home with Shinji."

"I only walk with Shinji because we work together," she said. It was half true. "And right now," she continued, "I don't feel like looking at him." That was true. She wasn't sure if she could control her anger enough after seeing him with Rei.

"Oh." Hikari said, sinking back into her depressed mood.

It frustrated Asuka. She had thought that her friend was finally reverting back to normal, and was not happy that she had been wrong. A long silence filled up the space as Asuka thought about what was wrong with her friend. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that there was only one thing that could get Hikari depressed this much. "This is about Touji, isn't it?" she asked finally.

Hikari looked startled. Then she gave Asuka an embarrassed, half-hearted grin. "Yeah," she admitted. "How did you know?"

"Everybody knows," she said, waving her had around to get her point across. "The Three Stooges are the only one's that don't."

"Shinji seems sensitive in a nice kind of way," Hikari said. "Wouldn't he have noticed?"

Asuka laughed. "Shinji's a big fat dork! And he's denser that lead too! He wouldn't know how to relate to another person, if you gave him a manual!" _I'm doing more than giving him a manual and it's still not working, _Asuka thought bitterly.

"Oh, I see," Hikari said. She was sure that Asuka didn't mean it, sure that Asuka felt _something _for Shinji, but she knew that her friend would never admit it. She also knew that Asuka was trying to find out what was bothering her. "Asuka," she said after a while of debating on whether or not to tell her, and deciding that she would.

"Hm?" Asuka said as she was sipping her juice through the straw.

"I think… I think that Touji might be interested in Rei," Hikari said at last, feeling even more depressed as she heard the words leaving her own mouth. However, the loud hacking and coughing sounds that Asuka began making immediately distracted her.

Asuka had started laughing uncontrollably when she heard what had Hikari depressed, and unfortunately she had been drinking juice at the time, and it went down her windpipe. As soon as she stopped coughing, she laughed again before saying, "Are you kidding, Touji and Wondergirl!" She let out a torrent of laughter again. She knew that it was too absurd to be true, but part of her hoped that it was. That would leave Shinji all to her.

Taken aback by Asuka's laughter, Hikari tried to justify her statement. "Well, at lunch they seemed..." She trailed off as Asuka continued to laugh.

Asuka had tears in her eyes by the time she was able to stop laughing enough to talk coherently. "Don't worry Hikari," she said through broken laughs, "it'll never happen. If Shinji is denser than lead, than Rei Ayanami is off the atomic scale!" She erupted into a new fit of laughter.

"Really?" Hikari said, finally brightening.

"Yep," Asuka said as she wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes. "And if you're still doubting," she said, not sure if she should tell Hikari this, "I happen to know that there is something that Rei might want to talk to Touji about that has absolutely nothing to do with that."

"What is it?" Hikari asked. She was back to her usual self now, feeling much better.

Instead of answering, Asuka dodged the question with one of her own. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ok."

"Just what do you see in a dumb jock like that?" she asked. Asuka had known that Hikari had liked Touji for some time now, but she couldn't see why. She sucked on the straw.

"His…" Hikari paused for a moment, "compassionate side."

Asuka began choking on her juice again.

* * *

They had been walking towards the hospital in silence for some time now. As used to Rei presence as he was, Shinji still couldn't think of anything to talk about when he was near her. So, since they had started walking, Shinji had been floundering around in his mind for something to talk about, and was failing to grasp hold of anything. 

Deciding to take a small break from thinking for a while, Shinji looked over at Rei walking beside him. She wasn't looking at him, though unbeknownst to Shinji, she had just looked away when she saw his head turning. She still didn't know why she did that, but it didn't really matter at the moment.

As Shinji looked at Rei, his mind calmed and he could think, but he was taking a break from thinking, he reminded himself, so he just continued to look at Rei. Her skin was just pale enough to rest on the line between sickly and beautiful. Her crimson eyes were clear, deep pools of feathered red, and her light blue hair only served to bring out the beauty of her skin and eyes.

_She's beautiful,_ Shinji found himself thinking. This was not a new thought, of course. He had been thinking that for a long time now. As Shinji idly stared at the girl walking beside him, he wondered when it was that he had fallen for her.

In the beginning it had just been curiosity about the distant girl that had drawn him to Rei. That and the fact that she spent so much time with his father, and she actually seemed to enjoy it. He had actually been a little bit jealous of her. That's what he had felt in the beginning. Or so he thought.

Thinking back, Shinji couldn't exactly place when he had started feeling this way towards Rei, but he knew one thing: the moment he saw her being rolled in on that hospital bed, with bandages all over her body and IV needles stuck in her arms, he had felt _something. _Whether it was just normal concern for another person, or if he had fallen in love with her at that moment, Shinji didn't know. But he knew now that he cared for her more than anyone else.

As he was watching her, he noticed a blush growing on her cheeks, and he wondered why. He was answered when Rei spoke.

"Ikari," she said without looking at him.

"Yes, Ayanami?" Shinji said.

"You are staring at me."

Shinji realized that he was, in fact, very obviously staring at her, so it was no wonder that she had noticed. He quickly looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Rei shook her head, the blush gone from her cheeks now. "You do not need to apologize, Ikari. I was not offended."

Shinji looked at her again. "But still… I'm sorry anyways," Shinji told her.

Rei looked at him and smiled. He was the first person that had ever apologized her. She had always avoided her classmates, and none of them had been inclined to talk to her in any case. The Commander and Dr. Akagi had never seen fit to apologize to her either. She was still unused to smiling, but she would try for Shinji.

Shinji felt his heart leap and he looked at the ground again. Rei had started smiling at him yesterday, and every time he saw that curve of her lips, he felt happy. He wanted to know why she smiled for him—why she began smiling for him—but he could never bring himself to ask.

When they arrived at the hospital, Shinji led Rei through the halls until they reached room number twelve. He hadn't been able to think of anything to say the entire way here, so he hoped that would both be able to talk with Touji's sister.

When he knocked on the door, he expected to hear Rei respond from inside, but instead the door opened and a nurse looked out. "Yes?" she said.

"Um…" Shinji said, unsure of what to do. "My friend and I are here to visit the patient in this room, Rei Suzuhara."

The nurse shook her head and said, "I'm afraid you are too late."

Shinji's eyes widened, and the reason for Touji's odd behavior today suddenly clicked. "What? She was fine a few days ago! What happened?"

"Oh, she's perfectly healthy," the nurse said, trying to calm Shinji down after realizing what she said could have been taken the wrong way. "She was just transferred to a new hospital this morning."

"Oh," Shinji said, feeling relieved, though he was still confused as to why Touji had been acting depressed. "What hospital has she been transferred to?" he asked.

"I don't think you'll be able to visit her," the nurse said. "She's been taken to the NERV facility to be treated there. I don't think that they will let you in to see her."

"I believe they will," Rei said, startling the nurse. She had been so quiet that the nurse hadn't noticed her standing behind Shinji. Rei looked at Shinji and said, "Let's go, Ikari."

Shinji nodded and then slightly bowed to the nurse. "Thank you," he said before her turned and followed Rei out of the hospital. _I guess Misato got her transferred there after all._

* * *

"Oh, Ibuki!" Kaji said as he saw Maya walking down the hall. 

As soon as Maya had noticed him, she had tried slipping away before he saw her. Now that she had failed, she stopped walking and slumped in defeat before turning to respond to him.

"What is it, sir?" she said, hoping that she could get away from him as soon as possible.

"I need you to find me the location of entry number A524. Ritsuko said that you'd be able to find it for me."

"Ah, yes. Stay right here. I'll be right back with its location," she said, at which point she dashed down the hall before Kaji could follow her.

Kaji frowned. "Now that was rude," he said to no one in particular. He was about to follow Maya when he noticed Shinji coming down the hallway. "Shinji!" he said, waving his hand.

Shinji waved back and started walking towards Kaji. Kaji felt a little surprise when Rei appeared trailing after Shinji, but he took it all in stride, as Ryoji Kaji is never taken by surprise, to the outside world at least.

"Hi Kaji," Shinji said when he reached him. "Has Misato left already?"

"Yes," Kaji said. "Several hours ago, in fact."

"Oh, 'cause I was wondering why she hadn't told me that Touji's sister was transferred here, and I wanted to ask her."

Kaji felt sorry Shinji. He still didn't know who the pilot was, it seemed. "Well, maybe Misato didn't know. After all, Ritsuko is the one that manages the hospital. Perhaps she hadn't mentioned it to Misato."

Shinji nodded. "You're probably right."

"So, Shinji," Kaji said, grinning. "What are you doing here with Miss Ayanami? I'm sure that there are many more interesting things than wandering around NERV that a young couple to do."

Shinji's eyes widened and he quickly glanced at Rei and then back to Kaji before he began stuttering. "We aren't… I mean we… just because we are…"

"Are we not a triple now?" Ayanami asked.

Shinji stopped stuttering and both he and Kaji turned to look at Rei with confused expressions. "What?" they both said.

"Shinji and I were two," she said to Kaji. "Two is a couple. Now that you are here, Special Inspection Director Ryoji Kaji, we are three. Therefore, would we not be a triple?"

Kaji starred dumbfounded at Rei, amazed by her lack of knowledge concerning human relations. "You are right," he said. "But that's not exactly what I meant when I said couple…" Kaji shook his head. "Anyways, what are you two doing here?"

"We are visiting Touji's sister," Shinji told Kaji. "I promised him that I would visit her since she doesn't get many visitors, and I asked Ayanami if she wanted to meet her."

Before Kaji could reply, Maya came back. "Sir," she said handing him a piece of paper, "here is that entry's location. Storehouse A, section 5, number 24."

Kaji took the paper and thanked her for it, though he was a bit annoyed at how simple it was to figure out where the entry plug was. He could have figured it out without her help. _Why did she even have to go to her office to find it out? She could have just told me. For that matter, why didn't Ritsuko just tell me how to find it? Do they have something against me? What have I ever done to them?_

Maya would have been all too happy to tell him what he's done, even without him asking, but she refrained from doing so. She turned to Shinji and Rei. "Oh, Ayanami. The commander wants to see you. I'll bring you to him." She started walking away.

Rei felt very disappointed that she had to leave Shinji, and she turned to him. "I am sorry, Ikari," she said.

Shinji shook his head. "It's okay. I'll be fine visiting Touji's sister by myself."

Rei looked at him a moment longer and then nodded before turning to follow Maya.

"Shinji," Kaji said, suddenly remembering something.

"Yes?"

"How would you like to have a guys night out with me and some of your friends tomorrow night?" he asked.

Shinji looked at him askance. "Where would we be going?"

Kaji laughed, knowing what Shinji was probably thinking. "You've been listening to Misato too much, haven't you? Don't worry, I'm not taking you to a strip club or anything."

Shinji relaxed and then nodded. "Okay, I'll tell Kensuke and Touji tomorrow."

Kaji nodded, though he new that Touji wouldn't be joining them. "Well, I've got work to do." Then, as he was leaving, he whispered into Shinji's ear, "For future reference, if you don't want people to know whom you have an interest in, don't freak out when they assume you are a couple. It's a dead give away." Then he straightened. "I'll see you tonight. See ya, Shinji."

Shinji's eyes were wide after hearing what Kaji had whispered to him. Kaji knew what he felt for Rei now. Shinji shook his head. He'd think about that later, right now he needed to go and visit Touji's sister.

As he walked to the hospital wing, he idly wondered if Touji would be there.

* * *

Rei stood in front of the commander's desk waiting from him to speak. At present, Commander Ikari was faced the opposite way looking out a window behind him. By his side stood Commander Fuyutsuki, who was wondering what the commander was thinking at the moment. 

After several minutes, the commander slowly spun around in his chair and looked at Rei with white-gloved, steepled hands. "What do you think of Pilot Ikari?" he said.

Rei's face almost slipped as surprise threatened to show itself on her face, but she hid it successfully. _Does the commander know about what I feel for Shinji?_ she thought. _How did he find out? But maybe he doesn't know._ "Pilot Ikari is an exceptional pilot," she said, trying to act as she had before she became aware of her feelings for Shinji. "He has the highest sync ration of all the Eva pilots. He does not always follow orders, and he seems to believe that everyone is better that him."

She stopped talking when the commander gave a sharp gesture with his hand.

"I did not ask for statistics about the Pilot of Unit One," the commander said. "I asked what you thought of him."

Rei wasn't sure how to answer this without exposing her feelings. She felt sure that if the commander new, he wouldn't be pleased.

"Pilot Ikari is very polite and well mannered," she said. "He is the only person who has spoken to me over issues non-related to NERV or schoolwork. Despite how often I have not responded to him, he continues to speak to me, which is something that no other person has done."

The commander nodded and looked at her through the sunglasses he seemed to never take off. "Rei," he said. "I have an assignment for you."

"What is it, commander?" she asked.

"I want you to spend time with Pilot Ikari," the commander said.

Again, Rei almost lost her mask as she felt surprise. If anything, she had expected the commander to order her to stay away from Shinji. She had never expected this. "Sir?" she asked in her quiet voice, not sure that she understood what he was saying.

"I want you to get to know Pilot Ikari better than you already do, in other words, become someone he can trust."

"Trust?" Rei said.

The commander nodded. "Pilot Ikari has shown a tendency to resist orders. If someone he trusts follows those orders, it would discourage him from disobeying them."

Rei felt anger rise in her throat. Never before had she ever had as hard a time of keeping her face smooth as she did now. The commander was trying to use her to control Shinji again, just like he did when she first met Shinji. Her hands clenched, but she kept them out of sight. She nodded to the commander, "Yes, Sir," she said.

The commander nodded. "You may go."

Rei turned to go but the commander suddenly spoke again.

"One more thing," he said, and Rei stopped in the middle of her turn as she waited for the commander to speak. "I have arranged for a lock to be installed on the door to your apartment," he said. "Its installation should be finished by this time tomorrow. You may go now."

Rei nodded, noting how it had taken him several days to arrange the locks installation, and then turned and left his office. She would get close to Shinji, that's what the commander had ordered, and it was what she wanted to do. But under no circumstances would she ever allow _that man_ to use her to control Shinji ever again.

* * *

"I know that there is more to this order than meets the eye," Fuyutsuki said to Gendou as soon as Rei had left the office. He mused for a moment before saying, "You never seemed to take any interest in your son's affairs before." 

Gendou was quite for a moment as he looked at the door over steepled hands. "Before the accident," Gendou said in an emotionless voice, "I had intended another purpose for the AE project."

Fuyutsuki rose an eyebrow, as much for learning of different purpose for the AE project as for Gendou speaking of the accident that killed his wife, Yui Ikari. "Another purpose?" he asked

Gendou nodded. "Our wish to see Shinji happy was the original reason Yui and I started the AE project." Gendou was quiet for a moment. "Time is running out, Fuyutsuki," he said. "Over half the angel's have been destroyed. I may not be a father to Pilot Ikari, but there are things I want him to experience before the 17th angel is destroyed, things that Yui and I wished for."

Fuyutsuki nodded. He had always suspected as much about his former student. In Fuyutsuki's mind, he had determined that the real reason that Gendou had sent away his son was to desensitize himself, so that he would never again have to feel the pain he felt when his wife was killed. However, it seemed that he hadn't been entirely successful, and that Gendou still cared about what happened to Shinji. He was just being a father by doing only what he knew how to do: manipulation. He had been manipulating his son's life since his wife died, trying to help Shinji from the shadows. Though, from Fuyutsuki's standpoint, he hadn't been doing a very good job at it.

"But why Rei?" Fuyutsuki asked. "You know she has—"

"I know that," Gendou said, cutting off his old teacher. "Making the Second Child live in the same residence as him was my first attempt, but it seems that was a mistake. If anything, it had the opposite effect I had hoped for. This is the only option left to me."

"Once a father, always a father, it seems," Fuyutsuki said. "You know, Dr. Akagi won't approve of this, and weren't there safe guards in place to keep what you are trying to do from happening?"

"Dr. Akagi's opinion in this is irrelevant," Gendou said, "and the safeguards are of no consequence anymore." Then he stood up. "Come," he said. "There are other pressing matters, such as _that_ prophecy."

Fuyutsuki nodded as he followed Gendou out of the office. That prophecy. "Ah yes, that cryptic passage about the 16th angel. It's the only passage with two outcomes in the entirety of the Dead Sea scrolls, and as of yet we still have no idea what any of it me."

"Time is of the essence, Fuyutsuki. There are only three angels left before the sixteenth makes it's appearance. We just need to make sure events flow as we need them too, that is all," Gendou said as the door shut behind Fuyutsuki.

"Of course," Fuyutsuki said, following the commander.

This particular passage in the scrolls had been causing some worry, since there were two possible outcomes. One of the outcomes sent them down the path the Commander and SEELE were looking for, but the other one would cause all their work so far to be in vain.

The problem was that they didn't know which was which.

* * *

"Shinji!" Touji's sister squealed when he entered the room. 

"Um, hi, Rei," he said as he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"You came to see me again! I'm so happy!" she said, a smile painted across her face. "I didn't know if you would find me after they moved me here."

"Yeah…" he said to the girl who didn't act at all like she was related to Touji. "We almost didn't find you. I was going to bring one of my friends, but she had something she needed to do. She has the same name as you," he added.

"Cool! Does she look like me?" Rei asked.

Shinji was about to reply that she didn't, but then he looked at Rei again. Now that he really thought about it, she did look a little bit like his Rei. If his Rei looked several years younger, with longer hair, and if didn't have blue hair or red eyes, the he supposed that the two Rei's would look quite similar to each other. "Actually," he said several seconds later, "she does look kind of like you. Except she has shorter, blue hair and different color eyes."

"Blue hair?" Rei asked with her eyes wide. "Does she dye it?"

"I don't know," Shinji said. He really didn't think that Rei would be the type to dye her hair. But then, why was it blue? He had assumed that it was just because she was albino, which made her skin pale and her eyes red. But now that he thought about it, her hair really shouldn't be blue. "I don't think she does," he said at last.

Rei giggled. "Is she your girlfriend?" she asked.

Shinji once again did a very accurate impression of a tomato.

Rei erupted into a fit of giggling. "You like her!" she said, pointing at him.

Shinji opened his mouth to deny it, but found that he couldn't. He just stood there working his mouth, trying to get the words out, but he just couldn't say it. For some reason, he couldn't deny the truth anymore.

Rei's giggling died down, and her expression changed, almost like she was sad. "Hey Shinji," she asked. "Do you know where my brother is? He didn't come to see me yesterday or today."

The sad expression on Rei's face made Shinji feel worried about her, almost like he was her brother instead of Touji, and he forgot about his embarrassment. "I don't know," he said. "He was acting strangely all day, and then he disappeared after lunch. But I'm sure it's nothing. He'll be here in no time. He probably just has something he needs to do," he said, actually believing his words. After all, he had seen how worried Touji had been about his sister, so he couldn't imagine anything that would make him stop visiting her willingly. "Or maybe he's just sick."

Rei's expression lightened. "You really think so?" she asked.

"I'm sure of it," Shinji said, smiling.

"You're so cool, Shinji," Rei said suddenly.

"W-well…" Shinji trailed off. He wasn't really sure how to take a compliment, especially on like that. Never before in his life had he ever been, "cool."

"You pilot a giant robot and save the city from the big bad guys that try to come and hurt us!" She demonstrated defending the city by putting up her little fists and punching the air. "It's like an anime, and you're the main character! I want to be like you when I grow up!"

So astonished was Shinji at what Rei was saying, that he couldn't think of anything to say. He had never had anyone look up to him before, as he didn't have a brother or sister.

"I've got it!" Rei said. "If your girlfriend ever dumps you, I'll be your girlfriend, and then we can be married!"

Shinji fell out of his chair.

"What!" he said as he climbed back up.

"I said that I'll be your girlfriend if the other Rei dumps you! You said I look like her, so it would be easy, right?" she said.

Shinji stared at her incredulous. He never expected that Touji's little sister would say this to him. In fact he had never expected that anyone would say this to him, but least of all Touji's sister! "U-um…" Shinji stuttered, trying to think of what to say.

Rei looked at him expectantly.

Shinji's eyes darted around the room. Really, how was he supposed to respond to a situation like this?

"It's all right if your girlfriend dumps you, isn't it?" she asked.

"W-well," Shinji shuttered some more. "I-I don't think that Touji would be too happy if I—"

Rei cut him off. "It's okay, I can make him not be mad, like I did when he punched you!"

"A-also," Shinji said, trying to think of something, anything. "The other Rei isn't my girlfriend…" He winced when he realized that might not have been the best thing to say.

"But you like her, right?" Rei said, cocking her head.

Shinji nodded.

"And you don't know if she likes you?"

Shinji nodded again.

"See?" Rei said. "That's why I have to wait until she dumps you, 'cause you won't like me like that until you don't like her anymore" She nodded to herself as if she had known this all along. "So you need to hurry up and ask if she likes you!"

Shinji changed his mind. Rei was defiantly related to Touji. He couldn't believe that an eleven year-old girl was telling him that he needed to confess to Rei. He really wished that his Rei hadn't had to leave. Then again, Touji's sister still might not have refrained from talking about this even if Rei had been here.

"But… why me?" Shinji asked.

"Because you are cool and brave and you help people and you saved my life!" she said, her eyes shining as she looked at him.

"But I'm the reason you're in this hospital," Shinji said, looking at the floor.

"But you still saved me! If you didn't fight, that giant bad guy would have killed everybody!" she said.

Shinji really needed a change of subject.

"Ah… do you know how long until you can leave the hospital?" he asked.

Rei shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "The doctor said that she won't be able to do anything until she gets back, since she had to go on a trip. She said I'd be fine until then though," she added. "But it's okay even if I have to stay in the hospital forever, because you and my brother will visit me!"

Shinji would have turned red at those words, but they made him feel too sad. If she was fine with spending her entire life in a hospital as long as he and Touji visited her, she must really like him. He felt a need to assure her that she would one day leave the hospital. "Was the doctor's name Ritsuko Akagi?" Shinji asked.

Rei nodded. "Yup. It was Dr. Akagi."

Shinji smiled. "Then there is nothing to worry about," he said. "You'll be out of here in no time if Ritsuko is your doctor. I was in a little…accident about a week ago," he said, grimacing as he remembered Asuka throwing him into the disinfectant in the Eva cages. "I almost died, but Ritsuko saved me and I was out of the hospital in two days."

Rei smiled. "You really think that I will be able to get out of here?" she asked.

Shinji nodded. "I'm sure of it."

"And then it will be easier for me to be your girlfriend!"

Shinji hung his head in defeat as his skin turned red again.

"Shinji, Shinji, Shinji," Kaji said from the doorway, shaking his head. "Already recruiting girls for your own personal harem? I'm impressed, that's something I've never thought of. And Misato was worried that _I_'d give _you_ bad habits."

"Kaji!" Shinji yelled as he whipped around. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick you up," he said. "It is getting late, and you probably don't want to walk all the way home."

"Oh," Shinji said. "Alright." He turned to Rei. "I'll come see you the next time I can," he said.

Rei nodded. "Okay! Bye Shinji!" she said as she waved to him.

"Bye Rei," Shinji said as he left the room.

Shinji didn't say anything as he and Kaji walked down the hallway.

"The affections of a younger girl are hard to fend off," Kaji said suddenly.

Shinji just nodded.

"She's a bit young, but I guess it all depends on one's taste," Kaji said, causing Shinji to start babbling incoherently. "Here is some advice, man to man," Kaji said, stopping Shinji's babbling. "Concentrate on one girl at a time, because of either one finds out, you are sure to regret it. You need to be careful when planning a harem."

"I'm not trying to make a harem!" Shinji said, causing a passing worker to stare at him, and Shinji turned red from embarrassment.

Kaji laughed. "I'm just fooling with you," he said. "I know your not trying to make a harem, though I can't understand why."

"I wonder what Misato would do if she heard you talking like that," Shinji said, finally lightening up. "I don't think she'd be too happy."

Kaji visible paled as he imagined what Misato might do to him. She seemed to be almost over protective of Shinji when it came to shielding him from certain things. Kaji tried to shake the thought off with a laugh. "Anyway, that's of no consequence at the moment," he said. "Let's go to Misato's apartment, shall we?"

Shinji just nodded and they continued on their way. He idly wondered what his father had wanted with Rei, hoping that it wasn't something that would hurt her. If his father ever did anything that might cause Rei to be hurt… well, hopefully that moment would never come.

* * *

Rei stood at NERV's exit, waiting for Shinji. A few minutes ago, Kaji had asked her where Shinji was before proceeding to go and retrieve him. If she waited here, she was sure to encounter Shinji as he and Kaji left headquarters. This was most likely the last time she would see him today, and she needed to tell him her feelings. That's what she had decided. She just needed to wait for Shinji to appear, and then she would tell him. 

Sure enough, Shinji and Kaji rounded the corner several minutes later. Rei felt her heart beat speed up when she saw Shinji. Did loving Shinji also cause this to happen? Her body had never altered its functions by the mere sight of a person before, but it didn't matter. After her conversation with Suzuhara today, she was sure of what she felt for Shinji.

"Ayanami!" Shinji said when he saw her. He thought she might have gone home when Kaji had come to get him, but he was glad that she had not. He ran the rest of the way and then stood in front of her. "What did my father want to see you for?"

Rei hesitated before answering. It wasn't that she wanted to keep secrets from Shinji, but that she wasn't sure what his reaction would be. He might think that she was only being with him because of his father's orders, and she didn't want him to think that. It wasn't true, after all. So she couldn't tell him that, at least not yet. "The commander wished to inform me of the installation of the lock I requested be put on my apartment."

Shinji blinked. "When did you ask him for a lock?" he asked. He remembered her saying that she didn't need one.

"I requested it the day after you expressed concern for it," Rei told him, feeling a little odd telling him that, though she didn't know why. She just assumed it was because how she felt for him that caused it.

"Oh!" Shinji said, a little surprised. She hadn't seemed to take his advice about the lock at the time, but obviously he had been wrong.

Shinji looked at Rei, thinking. He really didn't want his time with her to end today. He looked at Kaji, who was busy leering at a passing female officer who was hurriedly trying to get away from him.

"What are you doing tonight, Ayanami?" he asked, speaking very fast.

Rei looked at him. She was confused as to why he was asking her this, but she answered him anyway. "I shall to return to my apartment, eat, and then rest," she told him simply.

Shinji licked his lips. He was nervous. "Ah… um… would you like to come over and eat at Misato's apartment? I can cook you something!" The words came out so fast that Shinji barely understood what he said. He couldn't believe that he was asking this. Even though he had told Rei that he would cook for her sometime, he still felt very nervous asking her now.

Rei smiled, causing Shinji's heart to leap again. She had wanted to spend more time with Shinji, and this was a chance to do so. What more, with the commander having ordered her to spend time with Shinji, she no longer had to worry about the commander or Dr. Akagi finding it odd. "I would like that very much, Ikari," she said.

Shinji smiled as well. He turned around to see the mildly disappointed looking Kaji who had once again failed to woo one of NERV's female staff. "It's okay if Ayanami comes over for dinner, isn't it Kaji?" he asked.

"What?" Kaji said, distracted by the retreating female officer. "Oh, yes of course it is. The more the merrier! So, you'll be joining us for dinner, Miss Ayanami?" Kaji asked.

Rei nodded. "Yes," she said without saying anything else. Shinji really was the only one she enjoyed speaking to.

"Well then, let's go, shall we?" Kaji said, grinning, and they all left NERV together.

* * *

Shinji walked up the stairs to Misato's holding a paper bag containing some bread, instant noodles, tonkatsu sauce, carrots, peas, zucchini, mushrooms, sesame seeds, and some chicken. As they were driving to the apartment, Shinji had remembered that the place was nearly vacant of food and so they stopped at the grocery store. Unfortunately, Kaji didn't have a credit card on him and had only a few thousand yen, so they couldn't buy much. 

He felt a little guilty about making yakisoba, as it was something easily obtainable from vendors on the streets, but there was nothing else he could think of to make. Kaji hadn't had much money with him, after all, and this was the only thing he could make with what they were able to buy. Why did Misato and Asuka always have to eat all the food he bought?

Shinji glanced at Rei, who was walking beside him. He was really happy that he was going to be able to cook dinner for her, even if it was just yakisoba. He heard Kaji grumbling behind him about how that had been the last of his pocket money, but he was sure that Kaji was joking. After all, Kaji had been quite insistent on taking Shinji and his friends out tomorrow, so he couldn't be that short on spending money.

When they reached the door to Misato's apartment, Kaji opened the door and walked in. "Asuka, I'm home!" Kaji yelled into the apartment.

Asuka came out of the living room looking ecstatic. "Kaji!" she said before latching onto him. Then she stepped back and said, "What took you so long? I've been starving!" She looked around Kaji, saw Shinji, and began to walk over to him, intending to take the bag of food for him. She needed to be nice to him, then he would have to notice her!

However, she froze in mid-step when Rei walked into the room.

When Rei saw Asuka, she stopped as well. Both of the girls locked eyes and stared at each other. Hard.

Shinji was oblivious to the staring match happening behind his back as he set the food on the counter. Kaji, however, was not.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ he mentally grumbled. _Misato owes me. She didn't say that anything like this might happen. I never expected this. Rei _and _Asuka?_ He just hoped things wouldn't get as bad as he expected them to. Two girls fighting over the same man was a very nasty business. He was a spy after all; he needed to know these sort of things, not to mention that he had been the center of several such confrontations at several points in his life.

"Kaji?" Asuka asked, a little too sweetly for Kaji's liking. "What is she doing here?"

Rei ignored Asuka as she took off her shoes and stepped into the apartment.

"Well," Kaji said, "Shinji invited Rei over for dinner." Kaji had a feeling of foreboding, and he didn't like it. _Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to allow Rei to come over._

Asuka was looking at Rei, trying to contain her feelings. Rei had been entirely to close to Shinji today for her liking, and on top of that Rei had been invited over for dinner. _Shinji never invited me over for dinner,_ she thought sourly before realizing how absurd that statement was. They lived together, so of course Shinji had never invited her to come over for dinner. But still… she didn't like Rei being here.

What she wanted more than anything right then was to kick the First Child out of Misato's apartment, or perhaps throw her off the balcony; however, she knew that Shinji wouldn't like her doing that. _I need to control my anger,_ she told herself. _If Shinji can do it, so can I! I am not weak! _She took several breaths and smiled at Rei.

Rei blinked in surprise when she saw Asuka smile. She was never on good terms with the pilot of Unit Two, so she was confused as to why Asuka was smiling at her. It wasn't just that, but the smile made her feel… uncomfortable. It was different from when other people smiled at her, different than when Shinji smiled at her. If she had to define it, Asuka's smile made Rei feel like she was going to lose something important, and Rei did not like that feeling. She just stared back at Asuka with no expression.

"This is your first time over here, isn't it Rei?" Asuka said.

Rei nodded to the redhead, but frowned inwardly. She didn't like Asuka calling her by her first name. Shinji didn't even use her first name, and she didn't like Asuka doing something that Shinji didn't. Even though the commander and the rest of NERV staff usually referred to her by her first name, they were older and had the right to even if she didn't like it. Asuka did not. "Address me as Ayanami," Rei told Asuka in no uncertain terms. She looked straight at Asuka.

Asuka fought to keep from leaping at Rei, and finally turned away from her so she didn't have to see that blue haired doll's empty face anymore. Rei hadn't even asked her to address her by her last name. Asuka would have been perfectly happy to call her Ayanami if she had asked, but no, she didn't ask. Asuka didn't like having someone who showed less emotion than a doll order her around. Trying to keep her mind off of Rei, Asuka went over to Shinji, who emptying the bag he brought in.

"What's for dinner, Shinji?" Asuka asked as she came up on his left side, leaning over the counter and starring at the food.

Shinji looked up at her and smiled. "Yakisoba," he said.

Suddenly Shinji felt something bump him from the right. He looked over and was surprised to see Rei standing there looking at the food. She hadn't liked Asuka being in such close proximity to Shinji, and seeing as there was no way for her to move the Second Child without upsetting Shinji, she decided to move closer to him.

Asuka, on the other hand, was not pleased that Rei had moved to Shinji's other side. She looked at Rei and their eyes met for a second, and Asuka's smile faltered as she momentarily glared at the First Child, mentally willing her to leave. However, Rei was unaffected and looked back down at the food.

Shinji meanwhile was confused as to why Rei was looking at the food. He followed her gaze until he reached the chicken. _She must be worried about the meat,_ he thought. _She did say that she gets sick whenever she eats it._ "Don't worry, Ayanami," Shinji told her smiling.

Rei looked up at him.

"Yours wont have any meat in it," he said.

Rei nodded, and she would have smiled for him if Asuka had not been staring at her. Her smile was for Shinji and Shinji alone. She did not want the Second Child to see it.

Shinji was paying far too much attention to Rei as far as Asuka was concerned. While she was still confident that Shinji could never be attracted to someone with as dull and empty a personality as the First Child, she still didn't like his attention on someone else. She needed to get his attention away from Rei and back to her.

However, she wasn't granted that chance as Kaji coughed behind them, relieved that Asuka hadn't done anything rash. "Well, I think you girls better let Shinji get cooking, or we'll be waiting a long time for dinner. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," he said.

Rei and Asuka nodded, but neither of them moved from Shinji's side. Neither one wanted to back away while the other girl was still there. They might have stayed there forever if Shinji had not moved in order to gather his cooking supplies. The two girls stared at each other for a moment longer, and then looked away from each other.

"Well, while Shinji is preparing our feast, why don't we pass the time with cards?" Kaji said to them as he produced a pack of cards from nowhere.

Asuka smiled and ran past the table and up to Kaji, taking the deck from his hand. "Fine," she said, "but only if she plays as well." Asuka pointed to Rei.

"I do not play cards," she stated flatly.

"Of course not, or do you just think you wont be able to beat me? After all, I am the best at everything I do, right Shinji?" Asuka said sweetly.

Shinji turned from the boiling pot of instant noodles. He had been concentrating on getting food ready, because he wanted it to impress Rei, even if it was only with yakisoba. In fact he had been concentrating so hard on it that he hadn't even heard what Asuka had said. "Did you want something, Asuka?" he asked.

"Jeeze, Shinji, you really need to pay better attention," she said before turning from him, a little upset that he hadn't been fixated on her all this time. "Come on, Kaji, convince Rei to play."

"Yes," Kaji said, looking at Rei. "It's really quite fun. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Rei was staring at Asuka again. She really didn't like it when the Second Child used her given name; however, when she thought of winning against Asuka in this game of cards… well, she the thought was appealing. "I will play," she said, and walked forward to the table.

Kaji grinned. "Now that's the spirit," he said and waited for the two girls to be seated. "Ok, the game is Blackjack, and I'm the dealer." After quickly explaining the rules of the game to the girls, Kaji began dealing out cards.

Both girls avoided each other's gaze, but both of them had one thing in common at the moment: neither of them wanted anything more than to beat the other.

Kaji smiled to himself since neither of them realized that they would both be playing against him.

* * *

Shinji sighed in relief as he poured the tonkatsu sauce over the two skillets of the sizzling diced ingredients of yakisoba, though one of the pans was absent of the shredded chicken. He just needed to stir it a little more and the yakisoba would be done. The heavenly smell of carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and the various other ingredients that Shinji had used drifted through the room, and were the three other people there not deeply engrossed in a game of blackjack, they might have stopped to savor the smell. 

Asuka stared from over her cards on the table at Rei, feeling frustrated. She hadn't realized that by playing against Rei, it would be impossible to read the dolls face. She had to admit that Rei's emotionless way of life did make her the ultimate when it came to bluffing, since no one could tell what she was thinking. However, Asuka had her this time. There was no way that Rei could beat these cards. "Stand," she told Kaji.

Rei stared at her cards. She found the game rather boring, as it was simple to calculate the odds of whether or not she would get the card she needed based on how Kaji shuffled the deck and the results of the last game. Of course she didn't do any better than Asuka had. At the moment, the three of them, Asuka, Rei, and Kaji were tied with wins and losses. If she could just win this one, her victory of Asuka was secured. "Hit me," she said as Kaji gave her a card.

Kaji couldn't help but chuckle softly every time one of the girls said that. When Asuka had first said "hit me" during the game, Rei had leaned over the table and punched her in the side of the face, claiming not to understand that that wasn't what Asuka had meant. However, from the slightly satisfied look she had on afterwards, he was pretty sure that she knew exactly what she was doing.

He felt a little odd, playing without any bets, but they didn't have any poker chips, and he knew that Misato would kill him if she ever learned that he had tried to get them to strip if they lost, so that wasn't a good idea either.

He laughed to himself softly, since the two girls still hadn't realized that they were both playing against him, and he had made no move to correct their belief that they could beat each other. In fact, he had purposely left that part of the rules out while explaining things to them. Asuka and Rei had one six times together, and he had only one three times. Regardless of who one this round, he knew that the two girls would be victorious together. Yes, he was a very crafty person.

When Rei said stay after looking at her new card, Kaji nodded to them both and they flipped over their cards that were facing down and stared each other's cards. Asuka had a six, a nine, and a five, totaling twenty. She looked haughtily at Rei's hand, before frowning. Rei had gotten a two, a ten, and an eight, totaling twenty as well. They had both tied with eachother.

"Looks like I've won this round," Kaji said, flipping over the hole card, displaying an eight, a two, and an ace, which totaled to a winning twenty-one. "However, it looks like you two win the game."

"What?" Asuka said with a puzzled look at Kaji, just as Rei said, "I do not understand."

"What? Didn't I tell you?" Kaji said with a mock frown of confusion. "In Blackjack the players all play against the dealer. You were both playing against me as a team."

Asuka stared in shock at Kaji. "How could you forget something so important?" she yelled at him.

While Kaji tried to defend himself from a now very upset Asuka, Rei turned her attention to Shinji. The fact that she had been playing together with Asuka did slightly annoy her, but it wasn't enough to distract her from Shinji.

She watched him as he bent over the skillets on the stove, stirring the contents every once in a while. Now that she was finished with the game, she could smell the aroma floating over from Shinji's cooking. She was surprised at how good it smelled to her. Other than lettuce, bread, water, and the occasional dinner with the commander, there wasn't much variety to what Rei would eat. She just never tasted anything she liked enough to prefer over another. As long as it met her daily requirements, she would eat it. Needless to say, she had never eaten Yakisoba before, despite how easily it could be obtained.

She watched him smile as he turned off the stove as he finished cooking, and he grabbed both skillets by their handles and set them on pre-placed potholders. Watching him always made her feel peaceful, even if they were just mundane things. She knew that she loved him, there was no other explanation and even other people had begun to see it. Since she always kept her mask, the emotion must be very strong for others to notice it. She didn't doubt her feelings for him anymore. She would tell him soon, but she didn't want to be around others when she did. She would have to be alone with him, that was the only thing for it.

"It's ready," Shinji said as he turned to the table.

Asuka stopped bickering with Kaji and turned to Shinji. "Finally," she said before clamping her mouth shut. At least she had kept from sounding exasperated. She put on a smile and walked around the desk and over to Shinji before grabbing the handle of the skillet that had the yakisoba with meat in it. "Here," she said, "I'll help you."

Shinji was slightly surprised at Asuka's offer to help, but he wasn't about to refuse it. She had been nice to him all day, and last night as well. He just couldn't easily get used to it. He hoped she wasn't getting sick.

Rei, after seeing Asuka get up to help Shinji, did the same. When she reached for the remaining skillet of yakisoba, Shinji suddenly grabbed it first. "It's okay, Ayanami," he said as he smiled at her. "I'll get it for you."

Rei felt another tug in her chest, which she now identified as her affection for him, and nodded. Though she was a little disappointed at the fact that Asuka was able to help him and she wasn't, she was happy that Shinji wanted to spare her of the work. She very much wanted to smile for him and make him happy, but with the presence of the Second Child, she could not do that. She simply nodded and returned to her seat.

Asuka saw this exchanged and momentarily glared at Rei, but quickly wiped it off her face as Shinji turned to look at her. She smiled at him and put some of the yakisoba on the plates that Kaji had just laid out for them.

Shinji walked over to Rei's plate and scooped some of the meat-free yakisoba for her. He had been very careful not to mix up which had meat and which didn't. He didn't want Rei to get sick. After emptying a good portion of the yakisoba onto Rei's plate, he put the skillet into the center of the table.

Rei looked at the yakisoba. She had often passed vendors on the streets selling yakisoba as she walked home from school or NERV, but she had never been inclined get any. However, as she looked at the vegetarian yakisoba that Shinji had just laid out, she felt a longing to try it. Even the smell rising from it made her want to try it more than anything else ever had. The only thing that made this yakisoba different from any other was that Shinji had made it especially for her, and she wanted it taste it. She looked over towards Shinji. He made this yakisoba for her, and she was sure that it would taste better than anything she's eaten before.

Shinji took his seat next, which was, to his delight, to the left of Rei, where Asuka had already given him some of the chicken yakisoba. Shinji looked to his left and saw Asuka sit in her seat next to him as well. He mentally frowned. This was the first time Misato's table had had three people on one side. He looked over at Kaji, who was placing the bread they had bought earlier on the table. Kaji just grinned at him and mouthed "harem," before sitting down opposite to the three pilots.

Asuka immediately began digging into her food, but stopped when she saw Rei clap her hands together and say "Thank you for the food." Asuka mentally cursed herself for forgetting the Japanese custom of thanking for the food before they eat, showing respect to whoever prepared it. Asuka quickly dropped her chopsticks and put her hands together before repeating the phrase. She couldn't let Rei of all people make her look bad in front of Shinji.

Rei looked at the yakisoba set before her as she picked up her chopsticks. She glanced over at Shinji and saw him looking at her with worry on his face, but he quickly turned away and began eating. _He must be worried about whether or not I like the food,_ Rei thought. She was sure that she was going to like no matter what it tasted like because he made it for her, but she couldn't tell him that, not yet. The only thing was to try the food. Using her chopsticks, she brought some of the yakisoba to her mouth.

As soon as the first noodle touched her tongue, Rei almost dropped her chopsticks; however, she managed to retain her grip on them and put the rest of the yakisoba into her mouth. She had never tasted anything like this before. It didn't taste anything like her lettuce or bread, or like the high-class dinner's she had with the commander. This tasted completely different. The sweet and sour taste of the sauce mixed with the vegetables and noodles almost overwhelmed her senses, and Rei found that she truly liked the taste.

In truth, she felt a desire to quickly eat as much of the yakisoba as possible, but she couldn't loose her emotionless mask. Only for Shinji would she drop the mask. She continued to eat the yakisoba, trying not to show just how much she liked it.

Shinji was busily eating his own yakisoba, but he was inwardly smiling to himself. No matter how much Rei tried to hide it, he knew that she truly liked the yakisoba. He knew her too well, and while it might go unnoticed to other people, he could tell. He had seen that she had almost dropped her chopsticks when had tasted it, seen the slight widening of her eyes, and he was now watching her from the corner of his eye as she ate the yakisoba just slight faster than normal. Shinji ate some more yakisoba.

By the time they finished eating, there was none of the vegetarian yakisoba left. Rei had easily eaten more than the other three had combined, for there was still some of their yakisoba left. She discreetly eyed the remaining yakisoba hungrily, even if it did have chicken in it. She was considering eating it anyway, knowing that she would have to pay the consequences of eating the meat later.

"Well," Kaji said, taking a piece of bread, "that was some of the best yakisoba I've had in some time. Misato said that you were good at cooking, Shinji, but she didn't say just how good."

"Thanks, Kaji," Shinji said, bowing his head slightly at the compliment. Then he turned to Rei. "Did you like it, Ayanami?" Shinji asked, though he already knew the answer just by looking at the pan where the vegetarian yakisoba had once rested.

"I did," Rei said, nodding her head. Shinji smiled and she felt her heart beat louder.

Kaji looked at the clock. "It's getting pretty late," he said. Standing up from the table, he said, "I guess we'd better be bringing Miss Ayanami home then, right Shinji?"

Shinji felt a little depressed, but he nodded to Kaji and stood up. "Let me clear the table first," he said.

"Aw, Kaji," Asuka said. "Can't Rei stay over?"

Shinji, Rei, and Kaji stared at Asuka in disbelief. Shinji and Kaji both knew that Rei and Asuka didn't get along well together, and they couldn't fathom any possible reason why Asuka would want Rei to stay over. Rei also knew how the Second Child felt towards her, so she was as confused as Shinji and Kaji were.

"Well," Kaji said, after recovering from momentary shock. "I guess that's up to Rei," he said as he turned to the blue haired girl.

"I do not mind," she said. It would give her more time to be with Shinji, even if she had to endure the Second Child's presence to do so.

"Alright," Kaji said, "but where is she going to sleep?"

"With Ikari," Rei said. Everyone stared at her.

"Ah…" Shinji said trailing off.

Asuka felt a vein begin to pulse on her temple. "She can sleep in my room," she said.

"I will sleep with Ikari," Rei said again. She would not sleep in the same room as Asuka.

"Ah, Kaji is already sleeping in my room," Shinji told Rei. He felt that Asuka might explode if Rei continued to insist that she would sleep with him

Kaji nodded, sensing the dangerous situation. "Shinji's right. You'd be best off sleeping in the same room of Asuka. Besides," he said, "it would be a good chance for you two to get along better."

Rei was about to refuse again, but then she saw Shinji glancing nervously at Asuka. Shinji didn't want them to fight with each other; Rei knew that. If it was something that Shinji wanted, she would do it. It would also allow her to keep an eye on the Second Child, so she could make sure she didn't do anything to Shinji. She nodded her head.

"Well, now that that's settled," Kaji said, "Shinji, you can finish washing the dishes, Asuka, you can help Rei get settled in, and I'm going to take a bath." With that, he turned and marched into the bathroom.

Shinji brought the dishes to the sink and began washing them, feeling very happy that he'd be able to spend more time with Rei.

* * *

"This is where you'll be sleeping," Asuka said as she rolled out a futon for Rei next to her own. 

Rei just nodded.

Asuka's eye slightly twitched from restraining her anger. She didn't particularly like Rei's lack of verbal response. It was as if she was being looked down upon, and Asuka didn't like it. But she needed to put up with this.

It had been a split second decision, having Rei stay over, but Asuka had gone with it the moment that it entered her mind. As hard as it was for Asuka to believe, she had known that Rei felt something for Shinji ever since the incident where he had fallen into the angel, when Rei had shown more concern for him than anything before. Asuka didn't want any competition, and it was best to eliminate it now rather than later.

"Why did you ask for my to stay, Pilot Soryu?" Rei asked, staring at Asuka.

Asuka gave a momentary start of surprise. It was almost like Rei had read her mind. "No reason, I just thought that we should be able to get along better. Shinji doesn't like it when we fight."

Rei looked at Asuka, wondering why the girl was showing concern for Shinji when she usually just caused him pain. However, what Asuka was saying was right. If this would make Shinji happier, Rei would try to get along with Asuka.

"Now," Asuka said, trying to divert the conversation. "You'll need to wash your uniform for tomorrow, right?" Rei nodded, and began to strip.

Asuka turned and began rummaging through her clothes for something Rei could wear in place of her uniform while it washed. She had just found something when she heard the door sliding open behind her. She whipped her head around and saw Rei begin to walk out the door, completely nude.

"Stop!" She yelled as she grabbed a hold of Rei and dragged her back into the room, sliding the door shut behind them. She stood with her back to the door as she tried to calm her breath. "What were you doing!" she yelled at Rei. "You're not wearing anything!"

Rei just looked at Asuka blankly. "I am aware of that," she said.

Asuka looked at Rei in disbelief. There had to be something wrong with this girl. "Shinji could have seen you!"

"Yes," Rei said.

"Where is your modesty? Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Modesty is irrelevant," Rei said, but she was a little hesitant. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't liked it when the commander had seen her during the tests with Dr. Akagi. Was that modesty?

"That's not the point! If Shinji saw you, the pervert would stare at you and think perverted things! Do you want that to happen! Jesus, your worse than Misato!" Asuka said, barely holding herself from raging at Rei. Even Misato wouldn't walk out naked! Rei had no modesty at all. She didn't even think about it. Just like a doll.

"Ikari is not perverted," Rei said.

"Yes he is!" Asuka said. "He groped you at your apartment! Remember, you said that!"

"Ikari did not grope me," Rei said, her eyes narrowing slightly at Asuka. She didn't like the redhead accusing Shinji of something that Rei knew wasn't true. "I caused him to lose his balance and he fell on top of me. He was not at fault."

"That's not the point! He's a boy! If you go out there like that, he'll see you and his nose will probably bleed because of all the perverted thoughts!" Asuka said as she walked away from the door to get Rei some clothes.

"His nose did not bleed last time," Rei said.

"That doesn't mean that it—" Asuka abruptly cut off and froze when she realized what Rei had said. Her eye was twitching as she slowly turned to look at Rei. "What do you mean, last time?" she asked, eye still twitching.

"When Ikari fell on top of me at my apartment," Rei said.

Asuka sighed in relief, and her eye relaxed. "That's different. He wouldn't get a nose bleed while you were wearing clothes unless he was really perverted anyway." She went back to getting some clothes for the nude girl behind her.

"I was not dressed," Rei said.

"WHAT!" Asuka yelled as she leapt several feet into the air and spun around to glare at Rei. "You mean to tell me," she said through clenched teeth, "that Shinji fell on top of you, at your apartment, while you were undressed?"

"Yes," Rei said. For some reason, this really irritated the Second Child, and Rei was enjoying every minute of it.

"I'll kill him," Asuka said quietly. It wasn't just Shinji that she was angry at. Every time she saw Rei without any clothes on, in the locker room when they got their plug suits on, or even now, everytime she saw her skin, her hair, her face, she hated it. Not even Asuka's skin was that smooth or flawless. She didn't have the fantastical beauty that Rei had. It wasn't natural, that's why it was only dolls that had that type of beauty. She didn't want Shinji to fall for that faux beauty. "I really will kill him."

"You will not," Rei said, any amusement she had felt before completely gone. "I will not let you harm him."

"You think you can stop me!" Asuka yelled, but then she closed her eyes and took slow breaths. This wasn't doing her any good. At this rate, her purpose wouldn't be accomplished. She wasn't going to spend an entire night with Rei for nothing. Rei was in her way to Shinji, and Asuka needed to remove that obstacle. "I'm sorry," she said through clenched teeth. If anything had been harder than apologizing to Shinji, it was apologizing to this doll. "I don't want to hurt Shinji."

Rei blinked. She had been taken back by Asuka's response that she lost that much of her mask. From what she knew of the Second Child, she had never predicted that Asuka would apologize to her.

Asuka smiled and held out clothes to Rei. "Here, you can wear these for tonight."

Rei just took them and nodded, not trusting herself to speak, unsure if she would be able to hold the disbelief she felt from her voice. She didn't realize that only Shinji or the Commander would be able to notice it if she did, and then the commander only just barely.

Asuka picked up Rei's uniform and the rest of the garments she had been wearing and put them outside of the room to be cleaned later.

After Rei had pulled on the panties, a pair of denim shorts, and a yellow tank top, of which Asuka was already wearing an identical outfit, Asuka opened the door. "Let's watch TV until Shinji is done with the dishes," she said. She needed something mind draining to help her anger disperse.

Rei just nodded, not wanting to disturb Shinji. She was too absorbed in her thoughts about the Second Child. Something was wrong, but Rei didn't know what.

* * *

It took Shinji almost an hour to finish cleaning the dishes and the kitchen. He had been so absorbed with the thought that Rei was going to stay over that he hadn't been able to concentrate on cleaning. He was finally done, and he went to the living room to join Asuka and Rei. 

As soon as he walked into the room, Rei looked towards him. Shinji's eyes widened. Before now, he had only seen Rei wearing her school uniform, her school swimsuit, and her plug suit. Well, he had seen her in a towel once… as well as in nothing at all. He almost flushed from the memory of that day. He had never seen her wearing anything like this.

He looked at Asuka, who was too absorbed in the television show to notice Shinji. She was wearing the exact same thing, but Shinji had seen her wear that outfit many times before now. Seeing both Rei and Asuka wearing the same thing, when it wasn't their uniform, made them look like friends. Shinji smiled at the sight.

Rei stood up from the couch and walked over to Shinji. Shinji froze in his spot. He was staring at Rei and he couldn't make his eyes move away. Her arms were bare, as were her legs, and what's more, the tank top was loose. He could see so much of her skin, so pale, so flawless… so beautiful.

When Rei reached Shinji, she looked up at him. Reaching out, she grasped his hand and began walking backwards towards the couch. Shinji, currently fixated by Rei, walked towards the couch with her. Luckily, Asuka was fixated by the soap opera on television and didn't notice this little scene.

It wasn't until Shinji sat down on the couch did he regain his senses, and right away he began panicking. He was sitting between two beautiful, scantily clad women, which had an effect on that he didn't particularly care for at the moment, especially if they noticed it.

Asuka had noticed his presence as soon as Shinji had sat down next to her on the couch. Though she didn't like the fact that Rei was sitting on his other side, she was quite content to be sitting this close to him. If she kept pretending to be absorbed in the show, Shinji would stay there. However, Rei was still there…

Rei herself wasn't watching the television, but instead looking at Shinji. She didn't particularly care for the soap opera that Asuka was "watching". Shinji looked uneasy, she thought. It must be due to Asuka sitting on his other side. She narrowed her eyes at the German girl. After Asuka's comment about killing Shinji earlier, for the first time, Rei felt like being openly hostile to someone. She wanted Shinji away from her. She reached out to him.

"Kaji sure spends a lot of time in the bathroom," Asuka said suddenly when she saw Rei reaching for Shinji. The doll was acting too familiar with Shinji recently, and she wouldn't let Rei take him away from her even this little bit.

Shinji jumped in his seat, startled by Asuka's sudden comment. "What?" he said.

"I said, Kaji spends a lot of time in the bathroom," Asuka said again.

The bathroom door slid open.

"Ah, that was refreshing," Kaji said as he came out shirtless, toweling his hair dry. "Huh?" he said when he saw Shinji sitting between Rei and Asuka. "Well, Shinji. You've done pretty well for only an hour." He grinned at Shinji.

"What?" Shinji said again. He looked to his left. He looked to his right. Then Shinji looked back at the grinning Kaji, and his eyes widened.

Leaping up from the couch, Shinji started stuttering as he tried to speak. "I-I-I didn't—I wasn't—I mean… I was doing the dishes until five minutes ago!"

Kaji's eyebrows rose. "Five minutes?" Kaji shook his head. "That's even more impressive, good work Shinji."

Shinji continued stuttering as he tried to defend himself, until Asuka spoke

"What are you two talking about?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," Kaji said. "Shinji has a little project he's working on, and he seems to have already recruited three, though I'm sure you'll learn all about it soon enough."

"Kaji!" Shinji said, almost pleading.

"What, Shinji?" Kaji said as he broke out into laughing. "You know I'm only fooling with you." He looked again at Shinji's pleading stare. "Oh alright, I understand. Come on, it's time to go to bed."

Shinji sighed with relief.

* * *

They had retired some time ago, but Shinji was still awake. Laying on the floor next to Kaji, Shinji couldn't keep his mind off the fact that Rei was sleeping in the room across the hall. That and the fact that she had been summoned to speak with his father. 

Rei had said that it was only to tell her that a lock had been installed on her door, but was that the only reason? Shinji new that Rei followed orders perfectly, especially if it came from his father. He had no way to know if she was telling the truth or not. That saddened him, because he wanted to trust what she said, trust her.

But that wasn't the only reason his mind was stuck on Rei's meeting with his father. Though she had told that she didn't really know his father, and he believed her, but he couldn't help but wonder why his father spent so much time with her. He didn't even know his father, other than how he felt about his work and Shinji's mother.

In truth, that had been part of what had originally drawn him to Rei. Since she spent so much time with his father, he had thought that she might know him better. If she didn't know him better, then why did he always spend time with her? Why didn't his father spend time with him? What was his father like?

"Hey," Shinji said, "are you asleep yet Kaji?"

He heard Kaji shift in the futon next to Shinji. "No," he said, "not yet."

_He works with my father a lot,_ Shinji thought. "Um. Well, can you tell me what's my father's like?"

"Well, there's a surprise question," Kaji said. "I would've thought you'd have asked about Katsuragi."

"It seems like you're always with my father, and compared to him, I know everything about Misato."'

"Commander Fuyutsuki is the one who's always with him. Have you been asking around about your father?"

"No," Shinji said. "It's… well… I just haven't been around him much."

"So you really don't know him."

"No," Shinji said. "But I've learned a lot about him lately," Shinji said, his voice lightening a bit. "I've learnt how he feels about his work, about my mother—"

"No you're wrong, Shinji," Kaji cut him off. "You only believe that you've learned, but people really can't understand themselves, much less each other. Understanding one hundred percent of anything is, impossible. That's why we spend so much time trying to understand our own motivations and those of others. That's what makes life so interesting."

"So you can't understand Misato either?" Shinji said. _Will I be able to understand Rei?_

Kaji gave a small laugh. "The Kanji that we use for the word 'she' means a woman far away. Women will always seem to be on a distant shore. The gulf that separates male and female is broader and deeper than any ocean."

Shinji, who was baffled by Kaji's sudden philosophical speeches, couldn't think of an appropriate reply. "I just don't understand adults," he finally said.

Kaji laughed. "I'm sorry, I don't seem to have helped you answer your question." Kaji shifted on his futon. "I don't really know your father at all Shinji, I'm not sure that anyone does. He seems to wear a mask at all times, hiding his true self. He's a bit like the ocean; there is always more than what you see on the surface.

"I only see your father when reporting to him or on rare occasions when he himself gives me an assignment. You probably know him better than I do."

"I see," Shinji said, feeling a bit let down. He wished that he could care less about what his father was like, but he couldn't. Why did that man have to be his father?

"But Shinji," Kaji said, "what I said about Commander Fuyutsuki is true. Although he may not know much, it is he who spends all his time with your father. If anyone knows more about him than what you know right now, it would be him."

"So he could tell me what my father is like?" Shinji asked.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up. He acts almost as emotionless as your father. You may not be able to get an answer out of him."

"I understand," Shinji said. "I just want to know why my father acts this way towards everyone."

"And towards yourself?" Kaji asked, rolling over and raising an eyebrow at Shinji.

Shinji nodded.

"You can try asking Fuyutsuki about it, though I don't know if he'll give you an answer." Kaji thought for a second, and then sighed. _Misato, how did you get me stuck on these kids?_ "Also, I'll see if I can dig up anything."

"Really, Kaji?" Shinji said, hopeful.

"But don't expect much, I doubt I'll be able to come up with anything."

Shinji nodded, "Thanks, Kaji."

"Your welcome, now let's get to sleep," Kaji said as he rolled over, facing away from Shinji again.

Shinji lay on his futon awake for a little while longer, thinking about how he would ask Fuyutsuki. _It would help if Rei was there with me. I wish that I could tell her…_

Shinji drifted off into a sleep filled dreams of blue hair and red eyes.

* * *

The light was off in Asuka's room as she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't go to sleep yet, not until she accomplished her purpose in having Rei stay over tonight. Asuka listened for the other girl's breathing. _It's not slow enough for her to be asleep yet, good._

"Having trouble sleeping?" Asuka asked Rei suddenly.

"No," Rei responded curtly. She was already suspicious of the Second Child's behavior, and would not fall asleep before she did. She would not allow the Second Child to slip past her and harm Shinji.

"Then why aren't you asleep?" Asuka asked.

"I do not require sleep at this moment," Rei told Asuka before falling silent again.

Asuka let out an exasperated huff and turned to the wall. She did not require sleep. Asuka hated how Rei acted so emotionless. She hated how Rei how she followed every order. She hated Rei's seeming indifference to everything around her. She hated everything about the doll, right down the blue hair and red eyes. She could not stand it that Shinji spent time with this doll, and that was her purpose for having Rei spend the night. It was time to put her plan into action.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Shinji lately, haven't you?" Asuka said, and she surprised herself by keeping most of the malice she felt out of her voice.

Rei stayed silent.

"Oh, don't think I haven't noticed," Asuka said as she rolled over, staring down at the other girl. "It's becoming increasingly obvious. Why is it that you are spending so much time with him? Did your precious commander order you to?"

Again, Rei didn't answer.

Asuka shrugged in her bed. "Oh well. It doesn't matter anyway. Shinji would never have any interest in a doll like you."

"Do not speak," Rei said suddenly, turning to glare at Asuka. "You are the one who caused him harm."

Asuka's eyes narrowed at Rei. "You don't seriously think that you have a chance with him, do you?"

"I do," Rei said. Of course, she didn't entirely understand what Asuka meant by "a chance," but the last thing that Rei wanted was to admit that to the redhead.

Asuka's eyes nearly left her head, and she stared down at her sheets. Of course she had suspected…but she had never imagined…how could that doll expect to have Shinji! Shinji was hers and hers alone! No one else could have him, especially not Rei. Her anger was about to burst when she remembered something, and then she quietly began to laugh.

Rei looked at her quizzically. She saw no reason for Asuka to be laughing, and it confused her.

"You think that Shinji can be yours, do you?" Asuka said between laughs as she continued to stare at the sheets. "You think that you can make him your doll just like you're the commander's?"

"I am not a doll," Rei said as she sat up on the floor, glaring at Asuka.

"Yes you are!" Asuka said as she jerked her head up and stared at Rei. "You are exactly like a doll! Orders, orders, orders; that's all you know! You do whatever _he_ commands, blindly following orders; you have no free will of your own! You are exactly like a doll! Do you think that Shinji could like someone who does whatever the person he hates most says?"

"I am not a doll," Rei repeated, albeit quieter this time. Did Shinji think of her as a doll? Did even a little bit ill towards her because of his father? No, he had said that he could never hate her. He had said that. But…

"You are," Asuka said again, driving the words in deep. "You think he must have interest in you because he's always nice to you, but did you ever stop to think that it's just how Shinji is? He's nice to everyone. Even if he hated you, he would never tell you that."

Rei couldn't respond. It was true, what Asuka said. Shinji was nice to everybody, even his father to a certain extent. All those time she had asked him if he hated her for slapping him, and he had said no, could they all have been lies? Shinji never would have said that he hated her; that was something he reserved for his father. Could Shinji really feel like Asuka said?

Even through Rei's emotionless mask, Asuka could see the blue haired girl faltering. She smiled. Time for the finishing blow.

"Tell me, Rei, have you ever kissed Shinji?"

Rei was too befuddled of her thoughts on what Shinji felt for her that she didn't have the will power to refuse an answer, and before she knew it, she had shaken her head and said, "No." She wasn't even looking at Asuka.

"Hm…" Asuka said. "Do you want to know what it's like?"

"What?" Rei said as she looked up at Asuka.

"I said do you want to know what it's like to kiss Shinji?" Asuka said, grinning maliciously at Rei.

Rei just stared blankly at Asuka.

"I've kissed him, you know," Asuka said nonchalantly. "Unlike you. I guess that shows that I am the one he prefers."

"You lie," Rei said. "You cause Ikari pain. He would be intimate with you."

"Oh, but he was. On the anniversary of his mother's death, as well; only several days ago. It was rather enjoyable, though I'd never admit that to him." Asuka glanced at Rei. "You know what, it wasn't even his first kiss either. He probably made out with tons of girls before he came here. Perhaps you are the only one who hasn't."

"No," Rei said. "Ikari is not like that." She didn't want to believe that Shinji had kissed the Second Child, but she couldn't help but think that there was some truth in what Asuka was saying.

"Are you sure?" Asuka said. "You can't be sure, can you? He probably despises you, or else he'd have kissed you by now." Asuka knew that most of her words were lies, but she didn't care. She was bent on driving Rei away from Shinji, and she would say whatever she needed to in order to accomplish that.

Is that true? Was Shinji just using her just like the Commander had been? _No_, Rei thought desperately. _He doesn't hate me. He said he never could hate me. He showed me that the commander was wrong. He said he piloted his Eva for me! He saved me back then. He was… He was…_

"I shall sleep," Rei said as she lay back down and drew sheets around her. She looked up at Asuka, and then turned away, but her mind was plagued with an image that she had conjured up: that of Shinji kissing Asuka. Her chest felt heavy, and there was an odd sensation in the back of her throat. She didn't understand either feeling. It felt… it felt like when she realized that the commander had just been using her. Betrayal. _Why Shinji?_

Asuka smiled as she lay back on her pillow. She had seen something in Rei's face then. Rei would no longer be competition, Asuka was sure of that.

She had broken the doll.

* * *

Shinji woke up early the next morning and got dressed quickly. Kaji was still asleep on the floor and Shinji stepped over him quietly, not wanting to wake him. Last night had been quite confusing and Shinji had forgotten to do the laundry. Shinji grimaced. That wasn't a good thing to forget, considering that Rei's uniform needed to be washed if she was to go to school today. 

He opened his door and looked across the hall to Asuka's room, where Rei was sleeping. Beside the door lay Rei's uniform. Shinji assumed that Asuka had already done her laundry since her clothes weren't anywhere to be found. Shinji picked up Rei's clothes and tiptoed quietly down the hall, into the kitchen, and through the curtain into the washroom.

Shinji let out a breath as he dropped the pile of clothes, glad that he hadn't woken anyone. Shinji turned to the small washing machine to his left. Bending down, he opened it up and placed the small pile of Rei's uniform in.

Soon the machine was humming as it washed Rei's clothes, and Shinji sighed as he leaned back against the wall. He had gotten up pretty early, and he was really tired. He wished that he could spend time with Rei like he had yesterday more frequently.

No, that wasn't really what he wished, he knew. What he wanted was the courage to risk everything and tell her how he felt. That's what he wanted, more than anything. Shinji's eyes drifted close. He wanted to tell her…

Shinji jumped to awareness when the buzzer went off, telling that the clothes were finished being washed. Opening up the machine again, Shinji removed Rei's now wet, though clean, clothes. Closing the machine, he stood up and walked out of the washing room, and headed towards the balcony.

Once he was on the balcony, he shut the sliding door behind him and placed Rei's damp uniform on a small table. Then he began to hang them on a line to dry; first the shirt, then the skirt, and then the socks. Shinji went through each piece of clothing like that. That is, until he reached two special garments.

When had first moved in with Misato, he had been a bit disturbed by the purple-haired woman's lack of modesty, always freaking out whenever he found a pair of underwear or a bra lying around the house. But in time, he had gotten used to it. He no longer freaked out when he did Misato's laundry and washed her undergarments. There was just one problem. This wasn't Misato's laundry. It was Rei's.

Shinji stood there, with Rei's bra and panties lying on the table in front of him. He had his eyes averted. He felt like he was doing something that he shouldn't, even though he was just hanging them up to dry. Just hanging them up to dry, that was all he was doing! There was no reason to feel nervous or guilty like this. Even so…

Shinji's hands moved slowly as he reached out to Rei's underpants. His eyes were still averted. _I'm just hanging them up to dry, that's all._ Shinji turned to the closing line, but in the act of turning his eyes had landed on Rei's underwear in his hands. _Rei's panties… _They moved closer to his face.

Shinji quickly realized what he was doing and hurriedly pinned them onto the close line. He mentally berated himself for what he had been about to do. If someone had seen him…

Shinji looked around quickly and was relieved to see that no one was watching. Then he turned to the next challenge. Rei's bra was the last piece of clothing on the small table out there on the balcony. Shinji swallowed as he looked at them, and his left hand twitched. It clearly remembered that time…

Shinji shook his head. He mustn't think about that time right now. He mustn't think of it! But that bra was probably one of the those that he had knocked all over the room when he had fallen on top of Rei, and his left hand still remembered the feel, the shape…

Shinji's face flushed red. _No!_ Shinji yelled at himself. _Don't think of that! Just hang it up on the line so Rei will have it when she wakes up!_ Slowly, Shinji grabbed the bra by its straps and hung it on the line, keeping his eyes averted all the while.

When he was done, Shinji wiped the sweat off his brow. Shinji wasn't sure which was more stressful, piloting Eva, or having Rei's bra and underwear sitting right there in front of him.

Shinji sat down in a chair on the balcony. He truly was tired. He had gotten up so early enough to give Rei's clothes a chance to dry before school started. This chair was comfortable, and he had some time before he needed to start making breakfast. He had some time…

* * *

She was alone. 

Rei couldn't perceive anything in the darkness. For some reason, this darkness made her feel uncomfortable. She felt as if it were trying to engulf her. Something in the back of her mind itched, as if the darkness were familiar, but she couldn't place it.

Almost nothing existed in this darkness. There was no light, no sound, there was nothing. Who was she? Did she have memories? She didn't know. There was nothing. And yet, she felt fear. Fear and pain were the only things that penetrated this darkness, or rather, the darkness gave birth to them.

She was always alone, but this darkness made her feel even more alone. There were no human's anywhere, nothing. She was afraid.

_What was that? A sound?_

Rei heard something in the distance, a sort of metallic banging, and she strained to make it out. _What is it? Is it a person? Help me…_

Rei tried to pull herself towards that sound. She could hear a voice. Who was it? It sounded vaguely familiar? Was it the Commander? _The Commander? Who is the Commander? Someone, help me… Save me!_ Rei mentally screamed out into the darkness. She hated it. She was so afraid, she wanted someone to save her!

Suddenly, with the sound of metal hinges turning, light poured into the darkness.

"Ayanami!" The voice was very close now. "Are you all right! Ayanami!"

_Who is that?_ Rei thought. The sudden presence of light had temporarily blinded her, and she couldn't see.

Eventualy the light faded, and she saw a boy staring at her with concerned eyes. _Who is that?_ She asked herself. _Pilot Ikari? Yes…_ her memory slowly returned to her, and her fear vanished. The darkness was gone, and with it, her memory of the fear began to fade.

Rei moved and looked towards him. He was smiling at her.

"Don't ever say that," he told her though tears, "just don't say that you have nothing else! Just don't say that. And don't say goodbye when you leave on a mission, it's just too sad."

"Why are you crying?" Rei asked. She did not understand this, and she struggled to remember what she felt just before Shinji had opened the door.

Shinji wiped away some of his tears, looked at her and said, "I'm just so happy that you are alive."

* * *

Rei's eyes opened up and she stared at the ceiling. 

_That's right,_ she said to herself. _He was crying. Shinji was crying for me. The Second Child is wrong. Shinji does care for me. He does. "I'm just so happy that you are alive." That's what he said._

She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it the night before, nor why she had dreamt it either. She was having more and more dreams of late, and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was Shinji's presence in her life, the meaning he had for her.

But still, Rei couldn't discount what Asuka had said about the kiss. Even if Shinji did care for her, he may not want to be intimate with her. He may not feel the same way as she did about him.

Rei sat up. She needed to ask him about the validity of Pilot Soryu's claims. Then, depending on his answer, she would tell him what she felt. She was going to do it today.

Rei stood up and walked to the door. She clearly remembered the Second Child putting her uniform out here yesterday, and she would need to wash it before she went to school. However when she looked outside, it was nowhere to be found. Puzzled, Rei left the room in search of her uniform.

She found it when she looked out onto the balcony and saw her clothes on a clothesline, blowing in the wind. Someone must have done it for her.

She was walking over to check if her clothes were dry or not when she saw him. He was peacefully sleeping in her chair, having fallen asleep after doing her laundry for her. Forgetting about her uniform, Rei changed her direction and walked over to the sleeping Shinji.

_He got up early to do my laundry,_ she thought. _But even so…_

Her thoughts were cut off when Shinji's lips moved, and he began mumbling in his sleep.

"No… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry… Ayanami…" Then he fell silent again.

Rei's eyes widened. He was dreaming about her. But what was he dreaming? He had been apologizing to her.

Shinji's hair was blowing in the wind as Rei looked down at him. She reached out and touched his face. _Shinji…_

Slowly, Shinji's eyes drifted open, and he looked up at her. "Ayanami?" he said, confused. And then he remembered what he had been doing just before falling asleep, and he jumped in the chair.

"Ah, um, when did you wake up?" he asked, panicking, not sure if she had seen him with her panties.

"I just awoke," she told him, though she looked away from his gaze. Why did she feel odd to look at him? Was it true what Asuka said? Did he really kiss her?

"Ayanami?" Shinji said, frowning. He noticed something odd in her behavior. Something was different than last night, and Shinji forgot all about worrying whether she had seen him or not. "Is something wrong?"

_He can tell,_ Rei thought. _I don't want him to worry._ "No," she replied, but she didn't elaborate, as she had been doing more frequently with him of late.

"Are you sure?" Shinji said. He knew something was bothering her. "Did Asuka do something to you last night?"

Rei shook her head. "I am fine, Ikari. You do not need to worry about me."

"Yes I do," Shinji said.

Rei looked back at Shinji. Something was different, though she couldn't place it. Right now, Shinji didn't seem to be his usual unsure self.

"I do need to worry about you. You are a very important person to me, and you don't worry about yourself at all. If something is wrong, I want to help you with it." Shinji's gaze was firm as he looked at Rei. He needed to worry about Rei. He wanted to, and he didn't want to hear her tell him that he shouldn't.

Rei stared back at Shinji, and then smiled, bringing Shinji back to his usual self as he felt his face redden. He had come so close to telling her how he felt. If only…

Rei stood up and walked over to her clothes flapping in the light breeze. They were dry. "Thank you, Shinji," she said, and began to take her clothes from the line.

"You're welcome," Shinji smiled at hearing her words, but then froze. The clothes were dry. That meant. "I have to start breakfast!" he yelled as he leapt from the chair and ran back into the apartment.

Rei finished pulling her clothes down and folded them on the table. She stood there and looked at her clothes. Even after talking to Shinji, her chest still felt heavy whenever the image of Shinji kissing Asuka rose in her mind. She didn't understand it. Kissing was a normal human reaction, so why should she feel this way? Was it because she loved Shinji? Did it skew her previously objective view?

Rei picked up her clothes. Now was not the time to think about that. It would only worry Shinji. She would ask him at school, and then she would tell him. She would tell him how she felt.

Rei's chest still felt heavy as she walked back into the apartment.

* * *

Shinji sighed as he finished putting together breakfast and three lunches. He had found some rice and some instant miso soup tucked into the back corner of one of the cabinets. Asuka and Kaji still hadn't woken up yet, and there was still plenty of time before they needed to head out. It seemed that there had been no need for him to panic after all. 

Rei came into the kitchen, fully dressed in her uniform. Had Shinji not been paying so much attention to getting their breakfast and lunches ready, he would have noticed that Rei had changed clothes in middle of the living room in plain sight.

"I made you lunch, Ayanami," Shinji said. "It's mostly vegetables left over from yesterday," he said apologetically. She _had _eaten all the vegetarian yakisoba after all. Both Shinji's and Asuka's had some of the yakisoba with chicken in it, but Rei couldn't have that.

"That is fine. Thank you, Ikari," Rei said.

Shinji smiled. "You're welcome," he said, and then began setting four places at the table.

Rei watched Shinji set the table. _Shinji does this for the Second Child every day. He makes her a lunch every day as well._ Rei felt that same sinking feeling in her chest. She wasn't sure, but she had heard descriptions of depression. Was this that feeling? She wouldn't be surprised if it was, since Shinji had caused her to feel so many other emotions already.

Kaji came into the kitchen just then. "Good morning Shinji. Good morning Ayanami. Is Asuka still asleep?" he said.

Shinji nodded as he set down chopsticks on the table. "I think so."

Kaji sighed. "Well, you'd better get her up. Could you do it, Miss Ayanami?" Kaji asked. "I doubt she'd be too happy to wake up with Shinji leaning over her, and me… well, let's just say I'm not prepared for that this early in the morning."

Rei nodded.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Shinji asked her again. He still didn't know exactly why, but Rei seemed to have hesitated when Kaji asked her to wake up Asuka. No matter what she said, Shinji was sure that Asuka must have done or said something to her last night. He had thought it odd that Asuka was so insistent that Rei spend the night.

"I am fine, Ikari," she said before going to wake up Asuka.

Shinji stared after her for a few seconds before Kaji said, "I'm going to freshen up a bit."

Shinji had forgotten that Kaji was there and jumped slightly when he heard him speak. "Alright," Shinji said. "Don't take too long or the food will be cold."

"I got it," Kaji said as he pushed aside the curtain that led into the bathroom. "By the way, don't forget to tell your friends about the little get together tonight."

"I wont," Shinji said before his stomach growled. He looked down at the food on the table, and then stood there, waiting for Rei and Asuka.

Asuka woke up when she heard her door open. Rolling over, she saw Rei walking over to her. "What do you want?" she asked.

Rei stopped approaching the bed. She had no wish to go any nearer to the Second Child then she had to. "I was told to wake you up," she said.

Asuka sat up in her bed and stretched her arms above her head. "Following orders again, huh?" she said through a yawn. Then she put her arms down and slid off her bed. "Well, it is all you know how to do, after all."

Rei clenched her fist. It would not do to get angry with the Second Child. Rei didn't want to let her mask down for anyone other then Shinji, no matter what the emotion. "Ikari made breakfast," she said, before turning her back to the Second Child and walked out of the room.

Asuka had a satisfied smile on as Rei left the room. She could tell that her speech last night had affected Rei exactly as she wanted to. She quickly pulled on her uniform and followed Rei out the door.

When Asuka reached the kitchen, she found Kaji just coming out of the shower, and Shinji was talking to Rei by the table. Her eyes narrowed. It was entirely possible that Shinji could undo all the work she had done last night. She couldn't let that happen.

Reaching the table, Asuka grabbed a hold of Shinji's arm, causing him to abruptly stop talking and turn red.

"Asuka!" he said as he tried to pull away, whilst avoiding looking at her. "What are you doing!"

"Nothing," she said as she pulled him closer.

Shinji looked towards Rei, and was dismayed to find that she was regarding the event emotionlessly, like she had been when Shinji first met her.

"Now Asuka," Kaji said, grinning. "You're going to get Shinji so excited that he won't be able to eat."

Asuka reflexively let go of Shinji at Kaji's comment.

Shinji, seeing the opportunity, leapt into his char and scooted it far enough in that his chest was pushing against the edge of the table. Though he wanted to fend off Kaji's comment, he was preoccupied with getting away from Asuka. He didn't want Rei thinking anything that was untrue. "Ok, let's eat!" he said hurriedly.

Asuka sat down in the seat next to Shinji, mentally yelling at Kaji for that comment which allowed him to escape. She needed to irrevocable destroy Rei's interest in him.

All obstacles must be eliminated.

They all began eating breakfast.

* * *

"So this is Unit Three?" 

Misato looked up at the black Evangelion standing in front of her in the Matsuhiro Testing Facility. Though she had seen the other Evas from this angel before, something about seeing Unit Three made her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was because of its sister Eva, Unit Four, she felt more scared of this one than the other Evas.

"Yup," Ritsuko said as she stepped up beside her friend. "We almost weren't ready for it, but the US branch wouldn't delay its departure any longer, so we had limited time to get this place ready. They were quite put off about the accident with Unit Four."

"Anyone would be." Misato shivered, despite the fact that it was a warm day out. She rubbed her shoulders. "Why did they have to send it to us? It gives me creeps just looking at this thing."

"Don't worry," Ritsuko said as she turned from the Eva. "This one doesn't have an S2 engine, so it would be impossible for what happened in Nevada to happen here."

"But they don't know for sure if it was the S2 engine," Misato said, looking away from the Eva. That thing gave her the chills!

"There is no other explanation," Ritsuko said, walking away "We'll be fine."

"If you say so," Misato said as she followed Ritsuko away from the Eva. "How is the pilot?"

"His test results are no where near the other pilots," Ritsuko said, "and we haven't even tested him in the Eva yet."

"That's probably because he doesn't want to pilot it," Misato said bitterly as they walked down the hall.

Ritsuko ignored the bitterness in Misato's voice. "Yes but we don't have anyone else to pilot it. We are going to need all the Evangelions to get through this."

Misato sighed. "I know, but I don't like what we are forcing these kids to do, you know?"

Ritsuko nodded. "I know, but we don't have any other choice. Only children born after Second Impact can pilot it, and then only a few of them."

"Yeah. Why do you think that is?"

"Hm?"

"That only children born after Second Impact can pilot it?"

Ritsuko hesitated for a moment, thinking. "No one knows for sure, but I think it may be that when Adam awoke in Antarctica, something happened that changed our DNA."

"If that were true," Misato said, "then why can't you or I pilot Eva? Especially me, since I was in Antarctica when it happened." The Arctic

"You never did pay too much attention in science class," Ritsuko said shaking her head. "It's like how we don't grow back a lost limb, or how your appendix doesn't return after it's been removed."

"Oh," Misato said. "So the children have this ability because they grew it while in the womb?"

"Exactly. Something during Second Impact changed the DNA that we pass onto our children, giving them the ability to pilot the Evas." She looked at Misato. "I guess you paid a bit more attention in science than I thought."

"Not really," Misato said. "It's more like that you can't have a friend who's a doctor and not pick up these sort of things, you know?"

"Why am I not surprised," Ritsuko mumbled to herself as they continued their way.

Misato looked out a large window that they passed by. They were about chest height with Unit Three now. She walked up to the glass wall and looked at the Eva standing outside it. She shivered again. "I don't think I'll ever be comfortable around Unit Three."

"Don't worry Misato. Everything is set for the activation test tomorrow," Ritsuko said as she came up next to her friend. "Nothing can go wrong."

* * *

"Shinji," Kensuke said, "what's up with Ayanami? She isn't looking at you today. Did you two have a fight?" 

"No," Shinji said as he put his head down on his desk. He was depressed over how Rei had acted, and the teachers droning voice wasn't helping at all. "She's been acting strangely all morning. I think Asuka might have done something to her."

When Kensuke didn't answer, Shinji raised his head off his desk to look at his friend. He was staring at Shinji with raised eyebrows. "What?" Shinji said.

Kensuke was silent for a few more seconds, and then he said, "When you say something, do you mean…" and then he trailed off.

Shinji gave Kensuke a confused look. "Mean what?"

"Mean, you know, that."

"That?" Shinji said, still confused.

"Yeah, _that_," Kensuke said, giving Shinji a look as if there should be no problem figuring this out.

Shinji stared at Kensuke a few more seconds before he realized what his friend was trying to say, and then his eyes widened.

"No!" Shinji said as he shook his head furiously. "Not _that_!"

"Are you sure?" Kensuke said. "Ayanami has never had a boyfriend, you know. It could be that she swings that way, and frankly, Asuka never seems pleased to see any guys."

"You haven't seen her with Kaji," Shinji said, fairly certain that his friend was joking now.

"Oh well," Kensuke said, and then his face fell, and he sighed. "Well, that didn't distract me very long."

Shinji looked at Kensuke. He looked really depressed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Kensuke didn't look at him, but began twirling his finger on his desk. "Unit Three has already arrived in Japan, hasn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah," Shinji said, though he had expected his friend to be a little more ecstatic about the fact. "It got here yesterday."

Kensuke collapsed on the desk. "This sucks. Who's going to pilot it then?" He looked over at Touji's empty seat. "Touji was absent today, maybe it's him…"

_So that's why he's all depressed_, Shinji thought, feeling slightly amused. _I think I have a bit more right to depression than he does though. Touji piloting Eva? That's not very likely._ Shinji laughed. "I don't think so!" he said. "Touji said that nothing would ever convince him to get into an Eva."

"Yeah, well that doesn't change the fact that I'm not the pilot," Kensuke said. "Why does it always seem that everyone gets to work at NERV except me? It's so unfair."

Shinji was grinning at Kensuke's complaining, when he remembered what Kaji had told him that morning. "Oh, Kaji said that he would take us out tonight to have a good time. Do you want to go?"

Kensuke's head shot up. "Kaji?" he said. "You mean that guy with long hair that came from Germany with Asuka and works for NERV?"

Shinji nodded. "Yup."

"Yes I'm coming!" Kensuke shouted, and Shinji grimaced.

"Be quiet or the teacher will hear," he said.

"Alright," Kensuke said. "But still, I'm coming. Where are we going?"

Shinji frowned. "I don't know, he didn't say." He looked at Touji's desk. He had been intending to ask Touji as well, but Touji wasn't here. "I wonder where Touji is."

"He's probably sick," Kensuke said, quickly forgetting that he had thought that Touji had been chosen to pilot Unit Three. "So when are we going tonight?" he said hurriedly.

"Why are you so happy about this?" Shinji asked. He hadn't expected Kensuke to be so enthusiastic.

"No reason," Kensuke said, avoiding eye contact with Shinji. He really wanted to talk with Kaji. It had been a long time since Shinji, Touji, and he had gone to that aircraft carrier, and Kensuke had forgotten what he had seen there up till now. He had gotten lost while exploring the ship and had stumbled upon Kaji in one of the rooms. Before Kaji had noticed him, Kensuke had seen Kaji working at a computer terminal. From what he had seen, Kaji was a master hacker, the kind that Kensuke wanted to be. If he could get Kaji to teach him… "So when are we going tonight?" he asked again

"I don't know that either," Shinji said. "I'll call you when I find out though."

"Alright," Kensuke said, his earlier depression completely forgotten.

Shinji sighed and he looked over to Rei's seat. She was staring out the window like she had always done, but Shinji wished that she were looking at him again. Just what did Asuka do to her?

* * *

The dark expanses of NERV Storehouse A lit up when Kaji hit the switch. The rows of shelves were several stories high, stacked with crates, boxes, and random scraps of metal. In other words, it was where NERV dumped all it's left over junk. 

That's what Kaji thought as he walked down the aisles of boxes, his footsteps echoing as he made his way to section five with the welding kit he had brought.

He was pretty sure that he found it when he stumbled upon dozens of trashed entry plugs strewn about. That and a large, red number five painted on the floor.

He looked at the various entry plugs as he looked for the one numbered twenty-four. He could see many of the standard entry plugs, although here and there they had dents, gashes, or holes melted through them. There were also entry-plugs that looked completely different from the one's that they normally used. Some were smaller than the modern entry plug, and some were larger. There was even one that looked almost seven years old, judging by the grime Kaji saw when he stuck his head inside.

_NERV has been working on the Evas for a long time_, Kaji thought as he looked at the various models of entry plugs.

"Never through anything away, do you Ritsu?" he said aloud as he looked at one that Kaji wasn't even sure was an entry plug because of all the holes and gashes in it.

Finally, he came to the one he was looking for. He could barley make out the marking's identifying it as Unit Zero's entry plug, since it had been so badly melted. Putting the welding kit down, Kaji put his hand on the surface of the entry plug.

It was like glass. Unlike the other entry plugs, which had a distinctly metallic feeling, Kaji felt as if he was moving his hand over something made of blown glass, something that would shatter if he hit it too hard. It was nearly frictionless as well. _The high temperatures it had been exposed to must have changed part of its atomic structure somehow,_ he thought. It was just like how tempered steel becomes harder when it's cooled, or, more accurately like, how melted silicon changes into glass.

Walking along the entry plug, allowing his hand to run over its warped surface, Kaji moved over to the entry hatch. Pulling open the door, Kaji peered inside and held out a flashlight he brought with him. Even the inside of the entry plug had turned glassy, he found out when he was nearly blinded by the refractions of the light. _It's a miracle that Rei survived._

Kaji backed out of the entry plug and turned to the hatch itself, examining its handles. He could make out a black mark on each handle, which he assumed was the result of Shinji grabbing onto the white hot metal and nearly burning his hands off. Kaji moved his gaze away from the handles and moved it to the actual edge of the hatch itself.

Upon seeing the edge of the hatch Kaji's eyes lit up. "Well," he said as he looked at the hatch. "Well, well, well."

* * *

Lunch had barely started before Shinji was out of his seat and making his way towards Asuka. He needed to know why Rei was acting so strangely. He'd been brooding on Rei's strange behavior the entire class, and it was causing him great unease. If Asuka had said something to upset Rei, he would… well, he didn't know exactly what he would do, but he would do something. 

"Asuka," he said, when he reached her. "What did you do to Ayanami?"

"I didn't do anything," Asuka said, too politely for Shinji to believe her.

Shinji was about to reply when Hikari spoke up. "Is something wrong with Ayanami, Shinji?" she asked, hoping to get her mind off of Touji's absense.

Shinji nodded. "She's been acting differently today," he said. "I'm worried about her."

Hikari looked over at Rei. "She looks the same to me," she said, seeing Rei slowly eating her lunch.

Shinji shook his head. "I can't explain why, but I think something is bothering her," he said.

"You don't need to worry about Wondergirl," Asuka said through a mouthful of the leftover yakisoba.

"Maybe she just doesn't want to talk about what's bothering her," Hikari said.

"But she's been acting strangely ever since she stayed over at Misato's apartment with Asuka," Shinji said.

Hikari looked at Asuka, who was avoiding eye contact with her. Asuka had done something she shouldn't have, Hikari was sure of it. As bad as she felt for Ayanami, she couldn't just betray her friend.

"Anyway," Asuka said. "I didn't do anything. You better eat before lunch is over."

Shinji tried to look Asuka in the eye, but she was avoiding looking at him. He gave up and went back to his desk. He was pretty sure that Asuka wasn't going to say anything to him, no matter what he said. He opened up his lunch and began to think about how to find out what had happened between Asuka and Rei.

"Ikari," a voice said, interrupting Shinji's thoughts, and he jumped in his desk a little.

"Ayanami!" he said when he saw Rei standing next to his desk.

"You have not eaten any of your lunch," she said.

Shinji looked down at his yakisoba. He had been so worried about Rei that he hadn't noticed that he wasn't eating. "Oh," he said. "I was thinking of something."

Rei nodded, accepting the answer.

Shinji was about to ask her what was wrong again, but she spoke first. "Ikari," she said, and Shinji halted what he was going to say.

"Yes, Ayanami?"

"Will you come to the roof with me?" she asked.

Shinji's eyes widened, but he nodded his head vigorously and stood up. "Of course."

Rei nodded and began walking to the exit.

Shinji hastily packed away his lunch before bolting after her.

When Shinji reached the roof, he found Rei looking at the sky. It was pure blue, with no clouds visible anywhere, and there was a light breeze that rippled her hair and uniform as she looked upwards. Shinji stopped dead when he saw it. He felt his heart thumping in his chest.

Rei turned from the sky and regarded him with red eyes. They stood almost two meters apart, with eyes locked, and they stayed that way for almost five minutes, the wind blowing their hair.

"Ayanami," Shinji said, breaking the silence that had been there except for the rustling of the wind. "Will you please tell me what is bothering you? Don't say that nothing is, because I know that something is wrong. I want to help you. Did Asuka do something to you last night? Please tell me."

Rei smiled. Shinji's concern for her always made her feel happy, even if it was a bit tainted by the Second Child's words from the night before. "Ikari," she said. "Are you intimate with Pilot Soryu?"

Shinji gave Rei a confused look. "With Asuka?" he said. "No, and even if I wanted to, she wouldn't let me anyway."

"Pilot Soryu said that you kissed her," Rei said.

Shinji's eyes widened and he felt his muscles tense. "I… well, yes, but she tricked me!" he said desperately. "I was angry at her for talking about my mother, and then she plugged my nose and forced me to kiss her! I didn't want to…" He said the whole thing very fast and trailed off at the end when he saw Rei smiling.

"I…" she said slowly, "am glad."

"Ayanami?" Shinji said, confused. She said that she was glad that he hadn't kissed Asuka of his own free will. Did that mean…?

"Ikari," she said again, just as a large gust of wind blew against her and Shinji, causing their hair and clothes to flap.

"Yes, Ayanami?" Shinji said, barely able to get the words out of his thought.

Rei walked closer to him, looking him in the eyes. She stopped when they were only half a meter apart. "Ikari, I like you."

The wind blew loudly, batting Shinji's hair against his face, but he didn't hear nor feel it. He just stared at Ayanami, slowly comprehending what she had just said. Finaly, Shinji did the only logical thing that he could do.

He fainted.

* * *

**This is the end of Part 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angel's Heart**

**But don't worry, the story will continue in Part 2!  
Of course, how fast the next chapter comes out depends on how many reviews I get.**

What are the mysterious phantom signatures?  
What is it that Kaji has uncovered?  
What will Shinji do when he wakes up?

**Find out in Part 2 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angel's Heart**


	8. Chapter 8: Revelations

**Chapter Eight**

Shinji wasn't aware of anything as he floated in the darkness.

_Where am I? _was the first thing he thought. He had no body, but his could feel his consciousness floating. He couldn't remember anything as to where he was, nor how he got there. The only thing he knew was that this endless blackness was lonely.

Shinji reached out to try and find others, though he couldn't explain just how he did so, seeing as he had no body. At first he thought that there was nothing there, but the more he searched, the more he felt something, like water slipping through his fingers. Soon, he began to feel things bumping against his consciousness in the blackness, though every time Shinji attempted to grab a hold onto one of those fleeting feelings, it slipped through his grasp.

_What is this place? A dream? What are these things bumping against me?_ Shinji had no answers, but he found that his mind was utterly calm. He was certain that in this situation, not knowing where he was with unidentifiable objects brushing against him, he should be panicking. And yet, he wasn't. He felt no panic, no fear, or anger; it was as if all unpleasant emotions had been taken away from him.

Again, Shinji tried to grasp one of the phantom objects brushing against him, but it, like the others, slipped out of whatever he was grabbing with. It was almost as if these objects were alive, and yet Shinji got the distinct feeling that they were not any form of life that he knew, but something on a completely different level of consciousness. As Shinji felt out with his consciousness, his awareness of these things continued to increase, until it felt like he was swimming in an entire sea of them.

Shinji waited until one of the formless things bumped up against him, and he leapt out at it, wrapping his consciousness around it. It squirmed and fought as it tried to get away, but Shinji began to see something.

It was the kitchen Misato's apartment, though it looked as if he was looking down at it from some high perch. As he examined the room, he noticed that Misato was sitting at the table with a can of beer. There was another case of beer sitting on the table, and from the pile building up behind her, it seemed as if she had already gone through several cases already. He couldn't see her face, but every few seconds she took a drink from the can until she threw it over her should. Grabbing another beer from the case, she opened it and took a swig.

_Something is wrong_, Shinji thought. _Misato may drink a lot, but she's never drunk this much at one time._

"Damn you," Misato suddenly said, and she raised her head enough so that Shinji could see her face from wherever he was. She was crying. "Damn you angels, you've already taken enough from me! I swear I'll hunt every last one of you down until…" Her voice faded out as darkness closed in and the sight faded from Shinji's view.

Shinji felt the small life form finally break free of his grasp. _What was that?_ Shinji thought. _Why was Misato crying?_

Shinji suddenly felt something the moment he thought of Misato. Several of the objects darted toward him, swimming through the blackness. Shinji was so surprised that he stopped thinking about Misato, and the objects halted their approach and resumed their seemingly random travels through the darkness.

_What happened?_ _Did they react to my thoughts? Did thinking of Misato make them-?_

The objects darted towards Shinji again, and this time he came into contact with one of them. Immediately light began to enter his vision again, and he found himself looking down into a square, metal room, and in the center of the room girl sat on a stool. She looked about as old as he was. If he wasn't sure it was impossible, he would have said that the girl was Misato, but she was much too young.

"Who is she?" a familiar voice said.

Shinji whipped his head around, looking for the source of the voice. He was sure that voice before. He found what he was looking for in the room next to the one where the girl was sitting.

He wasn't sure how he got to that room, only know he wasn't looking down into the room with the girl, but instead he was looking at her through a window. Turning his head, or that's what it felt like he did, since he had no body, Shinji saw what looked like a slightly younger version of Commander Fuyutsuki.

"The only survivor of the research team," someone that Shinji didn't recognize said. "Her name is Misato Katsuragi."

Shinji's view whipped back to the girl sitting in the square room. He felt astonishment touch him slightly through the void. Was that really Misato?

Fuyutsuki spoke again. "Katsuragi? You mean Dr. Katsuragi's daughter?"

"Yes, but she hasn't said a word for two years."

"How terrible."

"She saw hell first hand. Her physical wounds should be healed, but repairing the damage to her mind will take time."

Fuyutsuki nodded as he came up next to where Shinji's consciousness floated and looked at Misato. "Indeed," he said, just as everything faded from sight again and the object swam away from Shinji.

_What was that?_ Shinji thought again. _Was that really Misato? And Commander Fuyutsuki? What am I seeing?_

Shinji floated in the darkness, trying to puzzle out the answers to all his questions. _These things…_ he thought as he felt one bump up against him, _they reacted to my thoughts about Misato._ Even as he thought those words, he felt several of the… bubbles-for lack of a better word-dart toward him before suddenly veering off. _If I think about other people, will I see them as well? Will I see Asuka-_

Several darted toward him

_Kaji-_

Several of those bubbles increased speed, while others changed course.

_Father?_

They made contact with Shinji.

He was looking down into his father's office. Gendou was sitting at his desk, hands folded, and he was staring blankly outward. Commander Fuyutsuki stood behind his father, seemingly waiting for something.

"This was… unexpected," Shinji's father said.

"What will you do now?" Fuyutsuki said.

"The goal remains the same," Gendou said, still staring out beyond his desk. The Human Instrumentality Project _must_ be completed."

Darkness closed in as yet another vision left Shinji.

Shinji just floated there. The father he had seen in that vision had felt much harder, much colder than the one he had now, if that was even possible. What on earth was he seeing?

_Shinji…_

Shinji spun around in the darkness, looking for the source of the whisper. The voice was strange to him, but it tickled something in the back of his mind, as if he'd heard the voice somewhere before. He stayed very still, trying to hear any sound made, but there was only silence.

After several minutes, he gave up on trying to hear it again. Perhaps it came from one of the visions contained in the sea of things that he was floating in. He lay back, or at least, that's what it felt like he was doing, since he had no body, and felt the things swim around him. Although he was curious about this place, what it was, and the visions it contained, he felt oddly at peace here.

One of the objects nudged him. It wasn't just brushing by, like the others had, but more like it had purposefully knocked into him. Shinji, in his formless shape, moved though the objects, trying to find the one that nudged him.

There it was again. He felt it nudge him from behind. It was acting much different than the other objects, which only reacted to his thoughts and tried to get away from him if he tried to physically grab a hold of them. Not only that, but it felt much larger as well. Unlike the little ones that surrounded him, this one felt as if it were the size of a human being.

The object nudged him again, and for an instant, he saw a boy with white hair and closed eyes floating naked in darkness, and then the sight vanished.

_Who was that?_ Shinji thought.

Suddenly, Shinji felt the object slam into him from the side, and the vision of the boy floating in the darkness appeared before him again. Unlike the other visions, however, Shinji felt as if he were still in the see of bubbles containing visions. It was like the boy was there with him.

Shinji just looked at the boy. He looked to be about the same height and age as Shinji was, and his skin was very pale. His white hair moved slowly back and forth above his head, as if he were underwater. Suddenly, the boy lifted a hand and put it on Shinji's shoulder. Shinji wasn't sure how he knew this, since he was sure that he was still formless, but that is what it felt like. When the boy opened his eyes, Shinji gasped. They were the same color as Rei's were.

The boy smiled, and his eyes seemed to glow red. _Hello, Shinji Ikari. What are you doing here?_

Shinji heard the voice in his mind, but the boy hadn't spoken a word. He stared at the boy in front of him.

The boy smiled. _Do not be alarmed,_ he said to Shinji, again without moving his mouth. _This place_, he said as he gestured to the darkness around them. H_ere we have no form. What you see is myself that exists in my mind, and I see the you that exists in your mind. You hear and see my thoughts because here,_ the boy continued, _it is possible to nullify the boundary between the mind and the minds of others._

_Who are you?_ Shinji asked the boy.

The boy smiled again. _You do not know me,_ he said, _but I know you, Shinji Ikari. I have waited such a long time to meet you._ The boy's smile vanished, and he looked at Shinji seriously. _However, you must leave this place quickly. Too many have stumbled upon this place and never returned. You must leave before you suffer the same fate._ The boy removed his arm from Shinji's shoulder and began to reluctantly turn away.

_Wait! _W_hat is this place?_ Shinji asked, and the boy stopped. _How do I get out of here?_

_It is a place outside of time, thought, and being, _the boy said as he turned back to regard Shinji, seemingly grateful that Shinji had called out to him._ Here exist the truths of all things, the memories of the universe._

_The memories of the universe? _Shinji said, confused.

The boy held his hand out, and one of the objects flew up to him, settling in his hand. Shinji could barely see it, there was only the faintest outline, but Shinji knew it was there. The boy brought the object close to him, and began to pet it. It seemed to shiver in delight, and the boy smiled at it. _These are the thoughts of the universe. _The boy extended his arm watched the object swim away. _Here, the past, the present, the future, and everything that lies beyond are one._ He turned back to Shinji._ Shinji, you must leave this place. _The boy looked over his shoulder, as if he heard someone approaching. _You must leave now._

_But why? _Shinji asked. He saw no reason to leave. This place was much better than the real world. Here, there was no fear, no hatred. No one could hurt him here. It was… peaceful. _Why should I ever leave? I feel at ease in this place. I am safe here. No one can hurt me here. _

_Any human soul that wanders here is in great danger of being lost forever for that very reason,_ the boy said. _The sense of peace this place gives will eventually overwhelm the desire to return to the real world, and the light of your soul will no longer be able to hold your body in existence. Do you want to hurt your friends so much that you would stay here forever? _

Shinji's eyes widened. How could he have forgotten his friends? Misato, Asuka, Touji, Kaji, Kensuke? Rei? The thought of never seeing them again… it frightened him, cutting through the void of emotion that he floated in. He felt a sense of urgency to get out of here now, but the calming effect of the place kept him from panicking.

_How do I leave?_ Shinji asked the boy.

_You must-_ the boy suddenly cut off, a look of alarm crossing his face. His image suddenly flickered for a second, and he stretched out an arm to Shinji with an expression of longing on his face, as if he wanted desperately to touch him, to feel Shinji there in front of him. His visage flickered once again, and then he vanished completely, leaving Shinji in the darkness.

Shinji floated there, in shock. The boy was gone, before Shinji had learned how to leave this place. He needed to get out of here! He didn't want to stay here forever!

_Shinji…_

Shinji spun around. It wasn't the same voice that had whispered the first time; it wasn't the voice of the boy. Shinji knew this voice. It was one he could never forget.

_Rei?_ he called out into the darkness.

Immediately, Shinji felt the bubbles suddenly dart towards him, but something was different this time. When he had thought of Misato, Kaji, Asuka, or his father, there were only about twenty or so of the objects that he could sense that turned towards him. This time, Shinji felt hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of the objects rush towards him. He could sense them come from distances in the void too far to comprehend. He felt them coming, closer, and closer, until one finally made contact.

Slowly, the vision came to him, and he almost didn't recognize the place he saw. It was Rei's apartment; however, there were some significant differences. The grime was gone from the walls, and no trash littered the floor. The reason Shinji knew it was Rei's apartment was because the layout of the furniture was the same. The small refrigerator was still there, and her hospital bed was still in the corner of the room.

_I wonder why Rei's room is clean?_ he thought, but quickly forgot all about the unexpected cleanliness when a certain sound reached his ears. It was quiet, and he almost didn't pick it up, but it sounded vaguely like someone was crying.

Shinji looked around again, and that's when he saw her. Rei was sitting on the floor with her back to the side of her bed, and she tightly held her knees close to her body. She was in her school uniform, and her face was pressed into her knees. As much as Shinji thought this was an odd position for Rei to put herself into, the stranger thing was that the crying seemed to be coming from her.

Shinji floated over to Rei, and was astounded at what he saw. Her shoulders were shaking, and she rose her head just enough that he saw tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she took sharp breaths as she continued to sob. What on Earth could affect Rei this much?

Shinji reached out to her, before he remembered that he had no body. He didn't like seeing Rei this sad, and it worried him. If he wasn't able to leave this place, he would never be able to see her again. More than any other reason, he wanted to return because Rei was there. _Rei…_

Suddenly, Rei's head shot up and her eyes opened wide, staring directly at him. "Shinji?" she said.

For a few brief moments, Shinji stared into Rei's crimson eyes, brimming with tears, and watched as recognition and disbelief registered within them. And then he was suddenly yanked away from her, back into the darkness.

_What… what was that?_ Shinji thought. _I'm sure that she saw me there, but why was she crying?_ That still worried him. For Rei to cry… it must be something worse than he could even imagine. _Perhaps someone died,_ he thought. _God knows that I'd be reacting much worse if Rei ever…_

Shinji's eyes widened as he felt a single bubble jet towards him, and he furiously tried to blank his mind. If there was a memory of the universe, as that boy had called it, coming to him after thinking along that line of thought… Shinji didn't want to see it.

But he had cleared his mind too late.

Panicking, Shinji tried to claw his way away from the vision he now felt enveloping him. He did _not_ want to see this, whatever it was. But he failed, his attempts at breaking away from the universes memory futile, barely even slowing down the rate at which the vision encompassed his consciousness.

And then Shinji saw something that chilled him to the bone.

The tall skyscrapers of Tokyo-3 had been withdrawn into the ground, and would have told Shinji that there was an Angel attack in progress if he hadn't already been frozen in horror as he watched Unit Zero arching it's back in pain. There was some sort of rope of light coming out of Unit Zero's stomach, and Shinji knew that it was an Angel. Veins going up and under Unit Zero's armor spread out from the Angel's contact point with Unit Zero, almost as if it were trying to enter the Eva.

Shinji shook his head in denial. He didn't want to see this and he closed his eyes, but without a tangible body, there were no eyelids to block out the scene before him, and all that Shinji could do was float and watch.

_Where am I? _he mentally screamed. _Where is Unit One?!_

As if summoned by his thoughts, Unit One suddenly appeared as it shot up from beneath the ground, already positioning itself to go and back up Unit Zero. But before Unit One could get close enough to provide any assistance to it's fellow Eva, the other end of the Angel whipped towards it like a deadly snake, poised to kill.

Shinji tensed as he watched Unit One grab a hold of the Angel, quickly aiming the rifle it had in it's other hand at the whip-like form the angel had taken and pulled the trigger. It had no effect on the angel. Shinji could see veins growing out from Unit One's hand where it had taken hold of the Angel, the armor encasing it slowly popping off as the veins grew, and there was nothing the Eva could do to stop it.

And suddenly the Angel was yanked away from him, flying back towards Unit Zero, causing Unit One to fall to it's knee in shock, but it quickly recovered and began to rise, looking directly towards Unit Zero.

Shinji heard a voice.

"Her AT-Field's been reversed!" it said, and Shinji recognized the voice as Maya's. "She's got bio-contamination everywhere!"

Shinji didn't know how he was hearing her, but Ritsuko's voice came next.

"She's trying to contain the Angel?" she said.

Then Misato. "Rei, abandon Unit Zero! Get out of there!"

Shinji found himself mentally shouting the same thing, though he knew that no one could hear him, even if he weren't in this ethereal state. Rei's response to the Major only caused him to shout even more.

"I cannot," she said. "If I leave Unit Zero the AT-Field will cease to be. I will not let it."

"Rei!" he heard Misato's voice yell, in sync with his own. "Don't do it!"

The next words Shinji heard made his blood run cold.

"Her core is collapsing!" Maya shouted with frantic panic in her voice. "It's passed critical!"

Shinji watched as a sudden light enveloped Unit Zero, expanding outwards and enveloping everything that it touched. Shinji heard another voice, but it took him a second to realize that it was coming from his own ethereal self.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Shinji opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He was breathing hard and felt a cold sweat all over his body. He had been dreaming of something peaceful, something safe, but then something terrible had happened; something so terrible that it had transformed his dream beyond a nightmare and into something much worse. But… he couldn't recall what it had been. 

Deciding that it was only a dream and couldn't have been too important, he began to study the ceiling before his eyes. He didn't recognize the ceiling, and it reminded him of when he first woke up after battling the third Angel. It was almost exactly the same now as it had been back then. He was lying down in a hospital bed, with his head elevated and a sheet pulled up to his chest. But most of all, the ceiling was unfamiliar. On top of that, he had no idea why he was there. Of course, there were a few differences, such as the fact that he was his school uniform, and that he could feel fading warmth passing through the sheets and his clothes on his left side…

"You are awake," Rei said.

Shinji looked over to his left, and saw Rei sitting in a chair next to the bed. Looking slightly downward, he saw the imprint on the sheets where she had leaned her head forward to sleep on. Glancing around, Shinji recognized the place as the nurse's office in school. Why was he there again? He looked back to Rei, who was staring at him with questioning eyes.

Shinji felt his mouth drop open as the memory slowly returned to him. Did that really… no, it couldn't have. He must have imagined it. But then why was he in the nurses office? He must have fainted when Rei said… but that just couldn't have happened!

"Um, Ayanami," Shinji said, sitting up straight.

"Yes, Ikari?" she asked.

"Uh, er, how did I get here?"

"I brought you down here."

"So we were on the roof?"

"Yes."

"Oh," Shinji said. He looked at Ayanami. Then he looked at the ceiling, towards the roof. He looked at Ayanami. Then he looked at the ceiling. And then he looked back at Ayanami. "Did you…?" he trailed off, mouthing wordlessly, still unable to comprehend what his memories told him.

"Did I what, Ikari?"

Shinji closed his mouth and tried to concentrate on one word at a time. The words came out slowly, making him sounding like he was a little bit dense in the attic. "Did. You. Tell. Me. That. You. Liked. Me?" His face turned immediately red after he said it, not able to believe that he had actually asked that.

"I did," Rei said, and then she stood up. Shinji wasn't sure, but she looked sad. Then she clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed to Shinji. "I apologize for taking your time, Ikari," she said, and then began walking for the door.

"Ayanami, wait!" Shinji yelled out before he could think, stretching his hand out toward her. He had always been such a coward, always running away. He always ran away from anything good that might have happened to him, because he was afraid of getting hurt. But now he had found something that he didn't want to leave, no matter what happened to him, and he felt that if he ran away this time, he would lose something precious to him forever. No more running.

Rei stopped at the door, but she didn't turn around.

"Ayanami, I… I've always been a coward. I always run away from my problems. I've run away from my father, from NERV, from Eva. I'm a horrible person sometimes. I've done things that could have hurt people I care about." Rei still hadn't turned around. Shinji stopped talking and took a deep breath. "I told you before that I piloted my Eva to protect you, so that you wouldn't get hurt any more. That's why I still pilot it. I worry that you might get hurt when we are fighting the angels. I always worry that I might not see you again. Even though I always run away, I… I don't want to run away from you. I know I'm not good enough, but…what I mean to say is… I like you too." There. He had said it, and his face was beet red.

Rei slowly turned around. When Shinji had fainted on the roof, she had taken it to mean that he did not return her feelings. She hadn't wanted to force her feelings upon him, and that was why she had made up her mind to leave him alone once he regained consciousness. But she had been wrong. Shinji did return her feelings, and she was… happy. More than happy. She had never felt like this before.

Shinji couldn't have been more surprised when he saw Rei's face. She was smiling at him, and tears were falling down her face. "I am glad," she said as the tears continued to slowly make their way down her face. "I am happy, but I am crying," she said, raising a hand to her face and remembered once seeing Shinji look as she did now. She felt the wetness of the tears on her cheek, and lowered the hand. "I understand now."

Shinji smiled, though he was still in shock from seeing Rei's reaction. If he had any doubts about how Rei felt for him, they were gone now. Slowly, Shinji climbed out of bed and walked over to Rei. "I'm glad for that," he said. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around Rei, and when she didn't resist and leaned into him he pulled her close to him. "Ayanami," he whispered, holding her tight, savoring her warmth and presence.

"Ikari," she said, closing her eyes and leaning against him. _This feels good…_

"Please, call me Shinji," he said, smiling tentatively at her, still nervous even in this intimate moment, and Rei nodded, wiping away some of the tears.

"I would like for you to call me Rei as well," she said, smiling at him.

"Alright," Shinji said, holding Rei tight.

"Shinji?" Rei said, looking at him.

"Yes, Rei?"

"Will you…" she paused, unused to the words her mouth was trying to form, "kiss me?"

Shinji felt butterflies in his stomach. He had never believed this moment would come, and now it was here. For him to hear Rei utter those words, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to him, though, still, he was nervous. Somehow, someway, he had conquered his fear for a time, and had told Rei how he had felt, and he was glad that he did. "Of course, Rei."

Shinji leaned in as Rei closed her eyes, and for the first time, Rei shared a kiss with the one person she truly loved.

While being awake, of course.

* * *

Kaworu coughed, spewing yellow liquid onto the floor in front of his face. He stayed there, on his hands and knees as he ejected the liquid from his lungs. As soon as the last of the LCL splashed onto the floor in front of him, he took a great gasp of air, and looked upwards. Some of the Council shivered as the boy turned his red-eyed gaze towards the seven men standing in a semi-circle in front of them. Even though he was powerless here, no member of SEELE could forget the fact that this white-haired boy had the power to crush them all. 

_Damn them_, Kaworu thought to himself as he stared at the men swathed in shadow. He momentary snickered to himself at the thought. An angel, that was what they called him. A messenger of God. And he was cussing.

His smirk vanished as the moment of humor faded. This was not good. He needed to return, to help Shinji get out of there.

"You have disobeyed us," Keel Lorenz said, staring at the angel.

Kaworu said nothing, but instead turned his red eyes towards Chairman Keel and stared straight at him. Keel tried to flinch away from that gaze, but he controlled himself. All the members of SEELE had to. They couldn't show any weakness before Kaworu. They were his masters.

"You have been told many times not to use your powers unless specifically commanded by the Council to do so. We will not tolerate any more of this."

"I was just having a little fun," Kaworu said, smirking at the chairman. "What's wrong with that?"

"That is not the issue here," Keel said, glaring at Kaworu from behind his visor. "If you disobey us again, we will be forced to take disciplinary actions and restrict you even further."

Kaworu stared at the chairman for a moment longer, realizing that this banter was getting him no where. He didn't have time to waste. "Yes," Kaworu said, finally bowing his head and removing his gaze from the old men. "I understand."

Each member of SEELE visibly relaxed, releasing tension that they hadn't realized had crept into their bodies. Then each of them nodded, and promptly vanished.

Kaworu knew that they were bluffing, but he also knew that he need maintain a semblance of obedience. He needed these old men to at least think that he was under their control. The meaning for his existence depended on it.

Kaworu stood up and stared towards the ceiling, but seeing only darkness above him.

_Shinji_,he thought. _Please get out of there. I'll be back to help you as soon as I can, but if not, I can only hope that you were able to return to the real world. I wait for the day that we meet again_.

Kaworu closed his eyes, and saw Shinji's visage beneath his eyelids. It was an image that had been ingrained in his mind even before he became conscious of his existence, and Kaworu knew, beyond all doubt, that he had been created for Shinji.

_Shinji…_

* * *

The kiss wasn't deep; it wasn't full of passion or lust. There was no exchange of saliva or reaching out with the tongue. It was just the most basic form of a kiss, but as far as Shinji and Rei were concerned, it was the best thing to have ever happened to them, and it lasted for several minutes as they stood there in each other's embrace, before they finally broke it off. 

Shinji looked at Rei after it was over, and she was smiling at him. "I love you, Rei Ayanami," he said, looking at her and pushing down his nervousness for a short time. "Ever since I first met you, I think, but took me a while to realize it."

"I believe it was the same for me as well," Rei said, leaning her head on Shinji's shoulder, savoring the closeness and the warmth she felt radiating through his shirt. "Always, you have always affected me differently than the others do. I just never understood why."

Shinji felt as if there was a glow in his heart, felt as if nothing could ever go wrong again, now that he knew that Rei loved him. As long as she was with him, he knew that he could handle anything. Feeling her stir, he moved back a bit to look at her again and found her staring at him. "Rei?"

"Shinji…" she said slowly. "Pilot Soryu…"

"There really is nothing between Asuka and me," he said, hurriedly. After everything that had happened today, he didn't want Rei to get the wrong idea. "She made me kiss her."

Rei shook her head. "That is not it," she said. She believed wholeheartedly what Shinji had told her on the roof, but something else was bothering her, making her feel slightly uneasy. "Pilot Soryu said that you had kissed others, besides her."

Total disbelief flooded Shinji's face. "That's not true!" Shinji said, waving his hands in front of him, as if that would help him defend himself against Asuka's claim. "You were the first person I ever kissed!"

A look of confusion crossed Rei's face. "I thought Pilot Soryu kissed you?"

Shinji froze, realizing that he had given away something he hadn't really wanted to tell Rei about. It might make her mad, to know that he had kissed her when she was asleep. He looked down at her, and saw her questioning red eyes, and knew that he couldn't lie to her even if he wanted to. He cared too much for her to ever do something like that.

"W-well," Shinji said, stuttering, "actually, I, um… had already kissed you before that…" he said, ending in a mumble.

Rei frowned for a moment, and then realization came over her face. "Does that mean that it wasn't a dream?" she asked him.

Shinji's eyes went wide, and he blushed from embarrassment. "You mean you were awake!?"

"No," Rei said, "at least, not completely, but I remember you coming into my apartment, pulling my blankets over me, and then you kissed me. It made me feel... good." She paused for a moment. "I have heard that dreams can be effected by things happening in the waking world. Perhaps that was what happened."

Shinji was too stunned by the fact that Rei had experienced that first kiss with him to actually say anything. He just stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, trying to put together the jumbled thoughts in his head. This had been one eventful day so far, and Shinji felt that it would continue. He could only pray that the events to come would be pleasant ones.

Suddenly the school nurse walked into the room, looking down at a clipboard and wearing a lab coat not unlike that of Dr. Akagi. With her dark hair in a bun behind her head and small wisps of hair trailing down from it, she studied her clipboard intently, looking just beneath the glasses in front of her brown eyes.. Shinji, upon seeing the nurse enter, sprang away from Rei as fast as he could before the nurse could look up and see them standing together like that. He was surprised when he realized that his actions nearly mirrored Rei's own.

The nurse looked up from her clipboard, and smiled. "Oh, I see you're awake now. That's good. You can go back to class in a second, but I'd like to check up on you a bit, first."

Shinji nodded, trying to conceal his embarrassment that someone had walked in on him and Rei together like that. He may love her, but there are just some things that should be kept between two people. He waited as the nurse took a few tests, such as his temperature, his blood pressure, and a few other things. Whenever the nurse wasn't looking, he snuck a glance at Rei and smiled, seeing her waiting patiently for him.

When the nurse had concluded all her tests, she nodded to Shinji. "Alright, you can go back to class now, but you seem to have a weaker constitution than normal today, so I'd recommend avoiding anything too strenuous or surprising for the rest of the day." She winked at Shinji and Rei, causing Shinji to blush, and causing Rei to just stare at the nurse, not comprehending what was being implied.

Kumiko Izumi, 26, single, and the school nurse, was very astute. She had some small notion as to what could have surprised Shinji enough to make him faint, especially when it was Rei who had come to get her. She smiled and adjusted the large round glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, before letting out a little laugh at Shinji's reaction to her comment, and then held out her arm in the direction of the door. "I give you two my official approval to return to class, Mr. Ikari and Miss Ayanami. Hurry up, you're already late enough as it is."

Shinji bowed his head slightly and thanked Miss Izumi before he and Rei left her office and headed back to class.

Kumiko smiled as she watched them leave. _Finally_, she thought to herself, still smiling._ Those Children deserve a chance to be happy together like this._ Then she looked back down at the clipboard she was studying.

As the resident nurse at the school that the Children attended in Tokyo-3, Kumiko had been briefed by Dr. Akagi herself about the Children and exactly what they did, so that she could care for them if the need ever arose. She had also been ordered to inform Dr. Akagi if any of the Children ever did come to her, and her report was laying on the clipboard she had in front of her.

She looked over the report another time, brushing a stray lock of brown hair that had escaped her braid, and thought about her encounter with the children just now. She did have a good understanding what the Children did, knowing about sync ratios and such. However, knowing all that, Kumiko had a pretty good idea that the people at NERV wouldn't be too comfortable with the relationship that Kumiko suspected between Shinji and Rei. They might try to keep them apart because of something silly like how a relationship might affect a sync ratio.

She stood there, tapping the clipboard and thinking about it. Those Children had saved Tokyo-3 and--from what she understood--the world many times. That was so much responsibility to place on the shoulders of a couple of young teens. They truly did deserve a chance to be happy.

Reports got lost all the time, after all.

* * *

Shinji and Rei walked down the hallway back towards their classroom in silence, both of them looking at the ground. Miss Izumi's sudden interruption had jerked Shinji back to his normal ultra-shy and conservative self, while Rei was contemplating exactly why her reaction to the nurses entrance had been identical to Shinji's. 

Shinji glanced at Rei, and felt himself smile. Truly, this had to be the best day in his life. Maybe someone up there was finally repaying for his hard work in saving the human race from the Angels. On second thought, that didn't sound quite right, but regardless, Shinji mentally thanked whatever cosmic power had brought him and Rei together.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Rei beat him to it.

"Shinji," she said as she looked up from the ground and turned her head towards him.

Shinji looked up from the ground as well. "What is it, Rei?" he asked.

"Back in the nurse's office," she began, "when Miss Izumi came in, I felt something odd."

Shinji had figured as much when Rei had jumped away from him back then, and he nodded for Rei to continue.

"When she came in, I felt… I am not sure. Afraid, I suppose. I didn't want her to see us together, but I do not know why. I am not ashamed of being with you, Shinji. It is just that I don't want someone else to see the me that I allow you to see."

Shinji smiled. Her interpretation was quite different, but Shinji though he had a pretty good idea of what she meant. "I think that's called embarrassment, Rei."

Rei cocked her head. "But why should my being with you be a cause for embarrassment?"

"I think it might because it would cause others to see you differently than they currently do. Everyone cares about the way they are seen by others."

"But I have never cared how others have viewed me before," Rei said, still confused.

Shinji shrugged, still walking. "Perhaps that's because you've never acted differently than the way people expected you to act. Well, at least differently enough that they would notice. Or, perhaps it's just something that you don't want other people to know. Something you want to keep to yourself because it's precious to you. That is how I feel, you know." He smiled sheepishly. "Also, Touji and Kensuke would tease me to no end if they found out."

Rei thought about this. Both aspects of what he said made sense. It did seem logical. Before she began to feel things for Shinji, she had never tried hiding things from people, never had to really consciously control her actions. She had never lied to the commander before. It did seem true. She didn't want people to see her differently. Shinji was the only one she had ever felt truly comfortable around, even more so than the commander. While she still seemed to act cold and aloof to other people, she wanted to be warm and close to Shinji. Perhaps, in time, her outward actions towards others would change, but for now, Shinji was enough. He really was the only one she wanted to share things with.

"I see," Rei said, nodding. "When we return to the class room, may we have an appearance as if nothing has happened? I… do not feel comfortable with the idea of revealing my feelings towards you in front of others."

Shinji nodded. "Of course Rei." He completely agreed with her. If it had been any other way, Shinji was sure that Touji and Kensuke would never let him hear the end of it, and that's not even mentioning how Asuka might react. He shivered slightly at the latter thought.

The reached the door to the classroom and stopped, staring at one another. They both smiled.

"Let us return to our studies, Ikari," Rei said.

Shinji nodded. "Of course, Ayanami."

* * *

"So the activation tests will take place tomorrow?" Misato asked, sipping her coffee. Although it didn't pack the punch that her ritual _Yebisu_ did, the caffeine would have to do for now. _No alcohol, my ass,_ Misato thought to herself as took another sip, remembering what she had been told when she requested her morning drink. 

"Yes," Ritsuko answered, leaning back in the couch across from Misato's chair, while holding her own coffee. "I think it might be a bit too soon. His sync scores still aren't as high as we'd hoped."

"No need to discuss why, I assume." Misato said, bitterness creeping into her voice.

Ritsuko just shook her head and sighed. "Just be happy that his sister is getting the medical treatment she needs. It's not like we can just open up NERV's facilities to just anyone, you know."

"Whatever," Misato said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "I don't want to talk about this now."

"Alright then," Ritsuko said. "What do you want to talk about? We've still got some time to kill before we're needed again."

"I don't know," Misato replied, taking another sip.

"Well then," Ritsuko said, getting ready to pry for some information, "how is Shinji doing?"

"He's doing fine," Misato said. "A hell of a lot better than I would have expected after the Twelfth Angel. Asuka is still bullying him, etc. It's pretty much the same old stuff. Oh, he's been visiting Touji's sister in the hospital, too."

"That's nice," Ritsuko said, not really caring about that. "I don't suppose he's started showing any interest in a particular girl now, has he? He is that age, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I don't think that he thinks he's ready for something like that. I mean, you've seen how self conscious he is. And after his father… I still think he's afraid of getting involved with someone like that because he thinks he might be hurt."

"The hedgehog's dilemma again," Ritsuko said, sighing. "He's going to have to grow out of that sometime."

"There is hope," Misato said. "While I don't think that Shinji will be the one to start the relationship, if someone else were to show interest in _him_ and confess to him, instead of the other way around, I think it might just work out."

Ritsuko smiled. "It sounds like you have some inside information, Misato." She leaned forwards, propping her arms up on her knees.

"And what if I do?" Misato said, grinning slightly at Ritsuko.

"Come one Misato," Ritsuko said. "You won't be able to hide something like that for long, I know you. Just tell me."

Misato looked at Ritsuko for a second longer, and then sighed. "Okay, alright," she said, and she leaned close to Ritsuko. "It's Asuka."

"Asuka?" Ritsuko said, only slightly surprised, though she knew she shouldn't be. She hadn't _really _expected Misato to say that Rei had been showing interest in Shinji. "Well they do say that opposites attract."

"Yes," Misato said, nodding. "I think it might just be infatuation from living together for so long though, but who can say what it could become in the future? Really, I think both Asuka and Shinji need it."

"Yes, well," Ritsuko said, feeling slightly relieved. This could work to her advantage. "If they do become involved… Since they are living together, I trust that you will make sure that certain things do not happen."

"Of course, Ritsuko, don't worry!"

"Coming from someone who skipped classes for an entire _month_--a _month_, Misato--in order to 'have some fun' with Kaji? I think my worries are well justified. A pregnancy could very well put one of the Children out of action, and that's not something we can chance."

"Don't worry, Ritsuko," Misato said again, smiling and waving her hand as if dismissing the issue. "I'll make sure nothing happens."

"You'd better," Ritsuko said, leaning back into the couch and taking another sip of coffee.

"Poor Rei," Misato said. "She might feel left out if Shinji and Asuka get together."

Ritsuko dropped her coffee.

"This is great," she said as she stood up, looking at the spill on her pants. "Just great."

"Oh, here Ritsuko," Misato said, handing her the napkins sitting on the coffee table between them.

"Thanks," Ritsuko said, patting herself with the napkins, trying to soak up as much of the spilt coffee as she could. "I'll be back Misato," she said, knowing that no amount of padding would soak up the entirety of the spill. "I've got to change out of these."

"Alright," Misato said. "See you when you get back."

Ritsuko nodded to Misato and walked out the door. She kept her lab coat closed. The location of the spill made it seem as if she'd had a different kind of accident.

As she walked down the hall towards her temporary room, Ritsuko mental berated her self for dropping the coffee. Misato's comment didn't mean anything. She'd said tons of things like that concerning Rei many times before. What she'd seen on that tape must be affecting the way she perceived things. Misato's comment didn't mean anything.

"Oh! Dr. Akagi!"

Ritsuko stopped and turned to regard the young ensign that had called to her. "What is it?" she snapped.

The young man shrank back. He felt that he had caught the doctor at a bad time, nevertheless, he had to carry out his orders. "I-I was ordered to bring you this, Dr. Akagi," he said, stuttering, as he handed Ritsuko's a clip board. "Apparently there are some odd power fluctuations being detected in Unit Three."

Ritsuko grabbed the clipboard and looked it over quickly, still upset with the thought that Rei and Shinji might become involved. "It's nothing," she said sharply, nearly throwing the clipboard back at the ensign. "The power fluctuations are well within normal ranges for a recently completed Evangelion Unit." Then she turned and left the ensign, striding down the hall and towards her room.

She had barely even looked at the clipboard, due to her upset state, and she hadn't been thinking clearly or objectively at the moment. If she had, she would have noticed something disturbing in the power fluctuations coming from the Eva, and that they seemed to form a distinct pattern.

A pattern strangely similar to that of Angel.

* * *

Class ended without incident. Kensuke had been too hung up over tonight's outing with Kaji to read any special meaning into Shinji's returning to class late, with Rei, no less. Without Touji around, Kensuke seemed a lot less excitable about such things. 

"Alright, so, Shinji," Kensuke began talking as soon as they were dismissed. "When should I be at your apartment tonight?"

"Um," Shinji said, putting his things away, "I'm still not sure. Just be there around eight, for now. I'll call you if it's going to be earlier."

"Alright!" Kensuke said, looking upwards throwing a fist into the air. "Eight o'clock it is." He looked back down at Shinji. "I'll be there at eight, but first I need to go and prepare." He dashed off, speeding out the door so fast that it rattled from the sudden displacement of air as he passed.

Shinji shook his head. Kaji was just taking them out somewhere. What could Kensuke possible need to prepare? He was really excited. Perhaps it was because Kaji worked for NERV. Kensuke was probably getting ready to grill Kaji for information.

Suddenly Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around slowly. Asuka and Hikari were standing behind him.

"Shinji," Asuka said, starring at him intently, without removing her hand from his shoulder.

"Ah, yes, Asuka?" Shinji asked, smiling nervously.

"Why were you and Ayanami gone so long?"

"Well, you see…" he trailed off, looking slightly nervous.

Asuka's eyes bored into him. "Well?"

Shinji sighed and hung his head. "I fainted."

Asuka stared at him for a moment, and then burst out in laughter. "Oh, Shinji," she laughed, "that's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard."

"Asuka," Shinji said, wincing as she slammed her hand up and down on his shoulder in laughter. "That hurts…"

"Oh, sorry Shinji," she said, giggling. "Wow, that's good. You fainted when wonder girl was trying to talk to you!" She tried to cover her mouth as the giggles started getting louder.

"Well, anyway," she said, when the giggles had finally faded away. "Since Kaji is taking you and your friends out tonight, I'm going to go and stay at Hikari's, alright?"

"Alright, Asuka," Shinji said, rubbing his shoulder where she had been hitting him.

She turned around and started walking away with Hikari. "See you," she said, waving a hand behind her.

"See you," Shinji said as she walked away.

When she vanished out the door, Shinji let out a sigh of relief. _Good,_ he thought. _She didn't suspect anything. It's not like I actually lied to her. I didn't even omit part of the truth. She asked why I took so long, and I told her. It's simple. _Even in his relief, though, Shinji felt a little anxiety. _I still feel like I lied to her, though. But it's no big deal. I mean, she's lied to me before, and I've lied to her… this is just a little bit bigger_. _I feel guilty that I didn't tell her, even though I don't want her to know. _He sighed. _She was acting friendlier than usually, like she has been the past few days. I wonder what's up?_

"Ikari?"

Shinji turned and saw Rei standing next to him, holding her bag in front of her. "Yes, Ayanami?"

"You were standing there staring at nothing. Everyone is gone."

"Eh?" Shinji looked up, and it was true. They were the only two left in the classroom. "Oh," Shinji said. "I guess everyone left while I was thinking to myself."

"I am still here…" Rei said.

Shinji looked at Rei. "Where you waiting for me?"

Rei nodded.

Shinji smiled. "That makes me happy," he said.

Rei smiled back at him. Shinji looked at her and the sight made him feel happier, even though he was still on cloud nine and reveling in the fact that Rei loved him too. She was his girlfriend. Mentally, he said a silent prayer thanking whatever God had blessed him so. He felt water building up in his eyes, and blinked to stop the tears.

"Shinji?" Rei asked, stepping closer to him and raising a hand to his face.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said as he closed his eyes and a few tears started to run down his face. "I'm just so happy. I never thought this day would come. I was afraid that you didn't feel the same way about me, and that I'd never get to be with you. I was always afraid to tell you how I felt, because of this. I didn't want to get hurt if you rejected me."

"Shinji…" Rei said, softly. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, white handkerchief. She raised it to Shinji's face and gently began wiping away the tears.

Shinji opened his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Rei," he said as he stopped crying.

"You are going somewhere with Inspector Kaji and Aida tonight, correct?" Rei asked as she returned the handkerchief to her pocket.

Shinji nodded, wiping the remains of the tears away. "Yeah. He wanted to take me, Kensuke, and Touji out somewhere tonight, but Touji isn't here, so it's just going to be me, Kaji, and Kensuke."

"Shinji…" Rei began to say, but then she stopped. She wanted to tell Shinji about Suzuhara . She wanted to tell him that Suzuhara had been chosen as the pilot of Unit Three. But Suzuhara had asked her not to. He had wanted to tell Shinji himself, and Rei thought that it would be easier for Shinji to hear it from Suzuhara rather than her. So, as much as it pained her to keep a secret like this from Shinji, she kept silent.

"Yes, Rei?" Shinji said, looking at her, when she didn't say anything more.

"It is nothing," Rei said, averting her eyes. She could not lie to him when she was looking at him. "I just wanted to spend more time with you, that is all."

"I see," Shinji said, smiling. He looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, I we have about two hours before I should probably get back to Misato's apartment. Is there anything that you want to do until then?"

Rei thought about his question for a moment, but she couldn't think of anything beyond wanting to be with him. As long as she was with him, anything was fine. "I do not know. I just want to be with you."

"I see. Well, then. Would you like to go for a walk around town."

Rei looked into Shinji's eyes and smiled. "That would be preferable."

Shinji smiled to himself, hearing Rei's speech. "Alright then, let's go."

They each grabbed their book bags, left the classroom, and they walked out of the school. Together.

* * *

"Hey girls!" Kaji called out. 

The trio of technicians walking down the hallway in front of him stopped and turned around and looked at him as he raced down the corridor to catch up with them, a small package under his arm.

"Mr. Kaji," one of them said, looking him up and down as he stopped before them. "Fancy seeing you here." She smiled slyly at him, face framed by her long, sandy hair.

"Good afternoon, Miss Ooi," Kaji said, flashing a grin her way. He turned his trademark smile to the other two ladies present. "And good afternoon to you too, Miss Agano and Miss Mogami."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kaji," Kaede said, smiling. The shortest of the three, she had brown eyes and chestnut colored hair that didn't fall below the base of her neck.

"Yes," Audi Mogami said, nodding. "Good afternoon." She adjusted her red-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, reminiscent of the way the commander always did. She had bobbed purple hair falling just past her shoulders. She had a small mole below the left corner of her smiling mouth.

Satsuki Ooi stepped forward. "I hope your not trying to flirt with us, Mr. Kaji," she began, piercing him with her gray eyes and flipping her long hair as she did so. "The major warned us about you."

Kaji's smile began to slip. "Is that so?" he asked.

All three of the girls nodded their heads.

"Ah," Kaji said, quickly shifting into his classic "it's not my fault ladies adore me" pose, closed eyes with two fingers of one hand on his temple, and the other hand on his hip, as he angled his head downward, like a sad prince. "I guess she just can't resist me. Even after we broke it off, she still can't bear to see me with other ladies." He shrugged and opened his eyes. "Huh? Girls?"

He looked down the hallway and saw the girls chatting together as they continued on their way. "Wait!" He called after them and ran to catch up.

They stopped once again, and turned to face him.

"What is it you want, Mr. Kaji?" Satsuki asked, looking at him. "Our break is almost over."

Kaede nodded. "Yes, and I promised Maya that I would be back early."

Satsuki rose an eyebrow at him. "We don't have time for your antics."

_Antics? _Kaji thought. _My antics? What is it with the women around here? _Rather than voicing his thoughts, Kaji just gave an exasperated smile and nodded. "Yes, yes, I understand," he said, putting a hand on the package clutched beneath his arm. "The truth is that I have something here I need analyzed, and I was wondering if I could impose on you girls to help me out?"

The three looked at each other. "That would be Aoi's department," Satsuki said, looking at her purple haired friend, who nodded in agreement.

Kaede nodded as well. "Defiantly. Aoi is the best at analytical jobs."

"Alright," Kaji said, shifting his gaze to Aoi. "Miss Mogami, do you think you could help me out?"

Aoi looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding slightly. She turned to her friends. "You go on ahead, I'll only be a moment."

Satsuki and Kaede looked a bit torn about leaving their friend with a notorious womanizer, but Aoi could take care of her self. "Alright, see ya," they said, before continuing their way down the hallway.

"Now," Aoi said, turning to Kaji and regarding him through her glasses. "What is it that you want of me, Mr. Kaji?"

Kaji looked her up and down and thought, _Many things_, but decided that he was already on thin ice as it was with these girls and thought it best not to chance it. So he nodded and brought out the package beneath his arm as he began to unwrap it's contents. "What I would like--" he said as he reached into the packing foam to draw out an object.

"--is for you to tell me--"

He pulled out a lump of white, glassy metal. Aoi adjusted her glasses to get a better look at it.

"--what exactly it was--"

He turned the lump to one side, showing a slight indent where the hatch door and frame exterior had fused together.

"--that could do this."

He turned the lump, and an impossibly flat, completely smooth side appeared. He handed the lump to her.

Aoi stared at the lump, and looked it over. Rotating it slowly. Suddenly her eyebrows shot up as she noticed a small detail, nearly rendered illegible because of how badly the lump was melted.

Kaji smiled slight, because he knew what she had just seen.

The letters "UNI" ended abruptly when they met the edge of the impossibly smooth plane of the lump. The edge of a "T" was just barely visible, as if the rest of the letter had simply been sliced off. After seeing that, Kaji had realized that that wasn't just a flat edge of the entry plug.

It was a cut.

* * *

"Let's stop here," Shinji said as they passed a small park. 

Rei nodded. "Alright," she said.

They walked over to a small park bench together, and sat down, looking over the park and the children playing there. Shinji felt Rei's presence beside him, looking forward at the children playing together in the park, and he realized that he didn't know much about Rei's past. Did she ever play in a park like this?

"Rei," he asked, and she turned to look at him. "Do you like to swing?"

"Swing?" she asked, confused.

Shinji pointed to the vacant swing set in the playground, just a few meters from the sandbox where the children were now playing.

Rei looked at the swing set before saying, "I do not know. I have never done it before."

"You've never been to a playground before?" Shinji said, surprised, even though he had expected the answer.

Rei shook her head. "I do not know. I have no memories from before I was nine."

"What?!" Shinji said, eyes wide. He hadn't known this.

Rei looked away from Shinji and clasped her hands in her lap. "Beyond the five years I have spent in NERV, I remember nothing. The first things I remember are the Commander, Dr. Akagi, and Eva. "

"My father and Ritsuko?" Shinji asked.

Rei nodded. "For a long time, I knew nothing else. Even when I transferred into the school here, I did not know anybody, and nobody knew me." She didn't know why, but it felt good to be telling Shinji these things. Things that she had never told anyone. But even though it felt good to tell him these things, it also made her feel lonely. She remembered all the time she had spent alone. On top of that, that nine year gap in her memory was like a pit of blackness and loneliness that threatened to suck her in sometimes. She wanted to tell him more… but there were things she could tell him, not yet. She didn't know how he would react if he heard them.

She wanted to be with him always, and never be alone anymore. She hadn't realized it at the, but even when she had been with the Commander she had still been alone. It was only when…

"Rei?" Shinji asked in a concerned voice, interrupting her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Ahh…" Rei put a hand to her face and felt tears brimming in her eyes. "I…" She tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. There was a lump in her throat that she couldn't get any words past, and she felt tears still building in her eyes. _Why… why do I feel this?_ She fell forward onto Shinji, feeling erratic breathing as she desperately tried to regain her composure.

Shinji hesitated for a second, then he wrapped his arms around her.

"Shinji…" he heard her whisper.

"Yes, Rei?" he asked.

She didn't answer, but instead pressed closer to him. Shinji felt her shaking, and tightened his grip on her, keeping her secure. _I didn't realize…_ he thought. _I always thought I was lonely, because I didn't have any parents to care for me. But I had my teachers, and then when I came here, I had Misato, and then Kensuke, and Touji, and even Asuka. But Rei… She's never had anyone but my father… and I know better than anyone how that must have been. _He held her close, just sitting there. "It's alright, Rei," he said, softly. "Don't worry. I'm with you." _I won't let you be lonely anymore._

Slowly, she stopped shaking, and her breathing slowed, and Shinji pulled back from her to look at her face. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Rei nodded. "I am sorry," she said, whipping away the remains of tears that were on her face. "I did not mean to--"

"It's alright," Shinji said. "It happens to everyone sometimes, especially when you suppress your emotions."

"I… I see," Rei said.

They sat there in silence for a moment, before Shinji stood up.

"Shinji?" Rei asked, looking up at him.

"Come here," he said, offering a hand out to her.

Rei felt her face flush slightly as she reached out to grab his hand. She wondered why she was blushing now, touching only his hand, when she had just had her whole body pressed against his. She stood up.

Shinji didn't let go of her hand as he lead her away from the bench and over to the swing set. They stopped in front of one of the swings, idly hanging there, waiting to be used.

"Shinji?" Rei asked again.

In response, he gestured to the wooden seat of the swing. "You said you've never been swinging before," he said. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Hesitantly, Rei sat down on the swing and grasped the ropes on either side of her, and waited. After a few moments, she stared at Shinji. "I do not find this very entertaining."

Shinji had to suppress a laugh as he looked down at Rei. "That's not how you swing, Rei," he said, smiling. "Here, I'll help you get started." He walked behind her and placed his hands on her back. "Hold on." Then, he gave her a push.

Rei felt the air move past her as she moved forward on the swing, only to have the direction suddenly reverse as she swing back. Then she felt Shinji hands on her back once more as he gave her another push forward, propelling her faster and further forward into the air. Once again she felt herself moving backwards, and once again Shinji's gentle hands propelled her forwards.

_Yes_, she thought, as she fell backwards once again. _When I am alone, I don't make any progress, but when I am with Shinji, I learn so many things, whether sad or happy. He taught me to cry… and how to smile. He helps me move forward. _She felt his hands press up against her back again, getting ready to push her forward again, and she felt an unfamiliar but pleasant feeling building up in her chest. She closed her eyes.

_I want to keep moving forward._

Shinji gave her another push, and as she flew forward through the air, Rei did something that she had never done before.

She laughed.

* * *

"Well, Miss Mogami?" Kaji said, looking over he shoulder and down onto the computer monitors she was sitting in front of. "What do you think?" 

"Could you stop that?" She asked, irritated. "I'm missing my shift for this, you know."

"Yes, yes," Kaji said, "and I am eternally grateful."

Aoi let out an irritated grumble, her face illuminated by the computer screens as she typed away. "Why do you want to know about this anyway?"

"Why are you missing your shift to help me find out?"

"Because I'm intrigued."

"So am I."

Aoi let out a sigh and stopped typing. She supposed that was all she was going to get out of him. She spun her chair around. "I don't know much yet, but whatever cut through that was sharper and more precise than anything I've seen or heard of. I'm running an analysis through the MAGI. I'll know more when it's complete."

Kaji sighed. He knew he shouldn't have expected much. "Well, how long do you think it will be before you know what it is?"

"I won't know exactly what it is, but I should have something for you tomorrow morning." She stood up out of her chair and pushed Kaji away from her. "Until then, Mr. Kaji, I suggest you let me get back to work."

"Alright," Kaji said, stepping aside for her to leave. "Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anybody about this. At least not yet."

Aoi flashed him a sly smile and adjusted her glasses again. "Of course not, so long as you make up for the gap that's going to appear in my paycheck."

"Ah… right," Kaji said, keeping a smile on his face. He looked down at his watch. "Well, would you look at the time. I've got to get going. Can't keep Shinji and his friend waiting forever!" And he dashed out of the room before Aoi could blackmail him anymore.

She sat back down smiling slightly to herself, and brought up the window showing the MAGI's progress on analyzing the cut of melted entry plug Kaji had brought in. The light from the monitor reflected in her glasses as she starred at the screen, watching the percentage bar slowly fill up. "Yes," she said to herself, quietly. "I'm very intrigued."

* * *

After he recovered from the shock of hearing Rei laugh, Shinji smiled, and slowly let Rei's swinging come to a stop. 

"I guess you like the swing then," he said, smiling.

Rei looked up at him, smiling, and nodded. "Yes, it seems I do."

"I've never heard you laugh before," Shinji said, as he helped her off the swing.

"I have never laughed before," Rei told him as she brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "That was… rather enjoyable."

"I knew you'd like it." Shinji glanced up at the clock that stood on a lamp post on the edge of the park. "I really should be getting back now," he said sadly. "Kaji and Kensuke will be wondering where I am."

Rei just nodded and squeezed Shinji's hand. "It is alright. I am glad I could spend time with you."

Shinji smiled. "So am I."

They stood their in silence for a few moments, before Shinji said. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Rei shook her head. "I thought perhaps I should go visit Touji's sister, as you suggested." She was sure that was something that would make Shinji happy, since she knew he felt responsible for the girl's hospitalization.

Shinji smiled. "I'm sure she would really like that. She was really interested when I told her about you."

They fell silent again and just stood there.

"Well," Shinji finally said. "I guess I'll see you later."

Rei nodded. "I will see you at school tomorrow, Shinji."

Slowly, they let go of each others hands, and turned to go their own way.

* * *

"Ah, there he is," Kaji said as he and Kensuke saw Shinji walk up to the apartment building. They were waiting outside by his car. "What took you so long?" 

Shinji hesitated before answering. "I was talking with a friend," he said.

Kaji grinned. This friend wouldn't happen to be a certain blue-haired girl of our mutual acquaintance?" He laughed when he saw Shinji's face turn red. "Anyways, Shinji, Mr. Aida" he said, "let's go. Get in the car."

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked when he pulled the passenger side door shut behind him.

"Yeah," Kensuke said, "Where?"

"Where else?" Kaji said as he started up the car. "We're going to go check out the ladies."

"Yes!" Kensuke said, causing both Shinji and Kaji to stare at him for a second in surprise.

"Uh, Kaji," did you run this by Misato?"

"Sort of," Kaji said, cheery. "I managed to ward off most of her wrath. I wanted to take you two to a Host Club, but Misato would really have taken my head if she heard about that. So I chose the next best thing. There is this nice little bar Misato and I visit often. It's the perfect place to visit when you are feeling down, or when you want to pick up some babes." He grinned. "Don't tell Misato that last part, or I won't be able to go there anymore."

Shinji smiled. "Of course."

"So," Kensuke said from the back seat. "Mr. Kaji. Are you gonna let us drink?"

Kaji snorted. "Are you kidding? Misato would really take my head if she learned that I let you have alcohol." He glanced at Shinji. "I'm surprised you haven't snuck a drink, what with all that beer Misato has in her house."

Shinji smiled. "I accidentally drank some of it once." He twisted his mouth in distaste as he remembered the event. "I didn't like it too much."

Kaji laughed. "Well, I supposed it's an acquired taste, of sorts."

"So no sake?" Kensuke said, sounding slightly disappointed.

"No, no sake," Kaji said, turning a corner. "Really, Mr. Aida, I didn't think you'd be so excited over the prospect of a little drink."

Kensuke turned slightly red, and Kaji laughed. "And no going off alone with any of the girls we meet. That's my job. Ah, here we are." The car pulled into a parking space and Kaji stopped the engine. "Let's go." He opened his door and stepped out, grabbing a small parcel that had been sitting in the seat between him and Shinji.

The bar they entered was a particularly fancy one. Fancy tables were spread throughout the room, and the bar itself was polished to a shine, with bottles of every shape, size and color lining the wall behind it. "Ah," Kaji said as he entered the bar. "It's good to be back." He nodded to the two boys. "Come on, let's get a seat at the bar."

As they approached the bar, the bartender, a man in his late twenties with short cropped black hair and dark eyes suddenly waved to Kaji. Kaji waved back. "How's it going Minoru?" Kaji said to the man.

"Well enough, Kaji. Haven't seen you around here for a few weeks. What's been keeping you?"

"Work, girls, the usual." Kaji grinned.

Minoru grinned back, putting down the glass he had just cleaned. "I'll bet." He turned his attention to Shinji and Kensuke. "You are your friends?"

"This is Shinji and his friend Kensuke," Kaji introduced them.

"Ah, so you're Shinji," Minoru said, leaning forward on the bar. "I've heard all about you from Kaji and Misato. Great job saving us from them angels or whatever they are."

"Ah, thank you," Shinji said, blushing slightly.

"Your welcome."

"What about me?" Kensuke spoke up. "Did she say anything about me? Like how I might be a good Eva pilot."

Minoru gave an apologetic grin to Kensuke. "Sorry, no she hasn't."

Kensuke's drooped his head in depression.

Minoru turned his attention back to Kaji. "So what brings you here today?"

"Oh, we're just having a guy's night out. You know, checking out the scene."

"I see," Minoru said, nodding. "Well then," he gestured for them to take a seat at the bar. "What can I get you gentlemen for drinks?"

"Ah, give me a… Black Russian. Yeah, a Black Russian.," Kaji said as he and Kensuke took seats on either side of Shinji. "And these two will have…" He looked at Shinji and Kensuke on the seats to his right. "Um…. Well, surprise them. Nothing alcoholic, mind you. If Misato hears that I gave them alcohol…" He made a throat slitting motion across his neck, and Minoru nodded.

"Alright," he said.

"Thanks," Kaji said to him as he walked off to make their drinks.

Kaji turned to Shinji and Kensuke. "Well now, while we're waiting for our drinks, I've got something here for Shinji. He produced the package from beneath his coat."

"Huh?" Shinji said, looking at the parcel wrapped in brown paper. "What is it?"

"Yeah," Kensuke said. "What is it?"

"It's just a little something I whipped together. Open in it."

Shinji tore open the brown package and looked at it's contents.

"This is…"

"Yup," Kaji said, nodding.

Shinji held up the dark stained wooden plaque with beveled edges and looked at it. In its center the handles to Unit 0's melted entry plug had been affixed. Shinji looked closer and saw the burn marks from where he had scorched his hands trying to open it up. He saw some writing below the handles and turned his attention to it.

_**Ikari Shinji**_

_Someone who's gone above and beyond to protect the people he loves._

Shinji lowered the plaque and looked at Kaji. "I don't know what to say," he said. "But thank you."

"It was the least I could do," Kaji said. "After all, if it weren't for you, I doubt any of us would still be here."

"Yes, but thank you all the same."

"Sweet Shinji!" Kensuke said, beside him. "Is this part of an entry plug?"

"Yup," Shinji said, holding up the plaque for Kensuke to see.

"Awesome…" Kensuke said quietly. "What are these black marks?"

Kaji looked at Shinji. "You mean you haven't told your friends about that time?"

Shinji blushed. "Well, no…"

"What hasn't he told us?" Kensuke asked.

Kaji smiled. "Well," he said as he slapped Shinji on the back. "Your friend here nearly scorched off his hands to save Miss Ayanami when she was trapped inside an entry plug."

"It wasn't really anything…" Shinji said, embarrassed.

"Not at all," Kaji said. "It takes a lot to endure that amount of pain for someone. Those burn marks are still on your hands, if I recall correctly."

Shinji opened his hands and laid them on the table. There was the faint outline of an oval shaped burn where he had grasped onto the piping hot mettle of the handle.

Kensuke whistled. "Wow, Shinji," he said. "If only Touji were here. We've been trying to get you to confess that you like Ayanami when the proof has been right there all along! "

"Kensuke!" Shinji said, closing his hands.

Kaji laughed. "Now, now, Mr. Aida," he said to Kensuke. "Don't tease him. His having a hard enough time trying to create his harem as it is."

"Kaji!"

Kaji laughed again.

"What's this?" Minoru said as he arrived back in front of the trio with their drinks. "Are you teasing him, Kaji?"

"You know I wouldn't do that, Minoru," Kaji said as Minoru gave him his drinks.

"Sure you wouldn't," Minoru said. "Here's your Black Russian." He turned to Shinji and pushed a light green, opaque drink towards him. "For you, a Non-alcoholic grasshopper. I hope you like mint? Good." He turned to Kensuke, and placed a drink overflowing with fruit. "And for you, a virgin blueberry daiquiri."

"Thanks, Minoru." Kaji said, taking a sip.

"No problem." Minoru's eyes shifted beyond the three boys for a second, and they heard a door swing shut. "There he is," Minoru muttered to himself. "He always shows up around this time."

"Hm?" Kaji said, looking up at Minoru.

Minoru gestured behind Kaji and the boys. "That old guy," he said, shaking his head. "He comes in here every day, orders the exact same thing. He'll sit there for fifteen minutes, then pay for his drink, and leave, drink untouched."

"Sounds like a real weirdo," Kaji said, taking a sip.

"I thank you for your sentiments, Mr. Kaji," a voice said, and Kaji looked up from his drink just before erupting into a furious fit of coughs after nearly inhaling the rest of his drink.

"Subcommander!" Kaji said, pounding his chest. "Sorry, Sir. I didn't realize."

Fuyutsuki laughed and rose a hand to forestall Kaji's apology. "It's alright. I suppose it is a little weird." He looked down. "Good Evening, Mr. Ikari," he said, nodding to Shinji, who nervously nodded back. He'd never met the subcommander outside of work before. He hadn't expected him to be so… friendly. "Who's your friend?"

"Ah," Shinji said, turning to look at Kensuke. "This is my friend, Kensuke Aida from school."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Aida," Fuyutsuki said, bending over and holding out his hand to Kensuke. "My name is Kouzou Fuyutsuki, I'm--"

"NERV's Subcommander!" Kensuke said, stars in his eyes, as he grasped Fuyutsuki's hand and vigorously began to shake it. "I can't believe I finally get to meet you!"

"Ah… yes," Fuyutsuki said, unable to rescue his hand from the ecstatic youth's grasp. "Um…"

"Oh, Kensuke," Kaji said, seeing the opportunity Fuyutsuki's appearance presented. He also felt a little bad for the subcommander, having to endure the young fan's handshake. "Come here, I've got something to discuss with you."

Kensuke dropped Fuyutsuki's hand and dashed over to Kaji, eager for this chance to talk with the master hacker. Fuyutsuki may be the subcommander, but Kensuke bet that he couldn't hack like Kaji. "Yes!" he said, excited, "I'm here!"

"Alright," Kaji said, leading Kensuke further down the bar. "Let's go and discuss over here, away from the subcommander." He looked back at Shinji and flashed him a thumbs up sign and gestured to Fuyutsuki, before turning back to Kensuke.

"Heh," Fuyutsuki said as he sat down at the bar. "You've got quite a friend there."

"Yeah, well, Kensuke loves everything to do with NERV," Shinji offered as an explanation for his friend's actions. "He'd do anything to be an Eva pilot."

"I see," Fuyutsuki said, putting his arms on the bar and leaning slightly forward, gesturing to Minoru, who nodded in return.

"Ah, Subcommander--"

"You can just call me Fuyutsuki outside of NERV," he said, smiling at Shinji.

"Right then, ah, Fuyutsuki, I've been wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Well… what can you tell me about my father? I mean, you're always with him, so you must know something. At this point, almost anything would be more than I know…" he trailed off and sipped on his mint flavored drink.

Fuyutsuki didn't answer, but just stared ahead until Minoru brought him his drink. He nodded his thanks, and stared into the wine glass set before him for what seemed like hours on end. Finally, he spoke.

"Your father," he began slowly, still starring at his wine glass, slowly spinning it between the thumb and index fingers of his right hand. "Your father loved your mother very much."

Shinji's eyes widened as he heard Fuyutsuki talk. Of all the things he had expected Fuyutsuki to say, that was not one of them.

"He was never the most likable of men, at first glance," he continued, "but after you got to know him for a while, he really was a kind, if driven, man. He was someone who could change people." Fuyutsuki let out a small laugh. "He even convinced me to change my life's work. People were drawn to your father, even if they disliked him."

Shinji listened to Fuyutsuki in awe. He had never expected the subcommander to be this open with him, and what he was telling him about his father made Shinji feel… happy. He didn't know why, though. But… still. Hearing that his father was a good man made him feel…

Fuyutsuki stopped spinning the glass. "But then the accident occurred."

"After the accident, your father was crushed completely, withdrawing within himself and only showing the side you've seen to the world. He couldn't handle life without Yui. He rarely left his office. Life was far to overwhelming for him." Fuyutsuki sighed. "All I could do was focus his despair on a new goal, something I'm not even sure I should have done now." He started spinning the glass again, and looked up at Shinji.

"Shinji, don't make the mistake of thinking your father doesn't love you."

"Wh-what?" Shinji asked, slightly shocked.

"You father… doesn't know how to express himself. Rather, he can't. Forgive me for saying this, but… he's a coward. He may love you, but… he doesn't want to be hurt again like when Yui…" He trailed off and straightened up a bit. "Sorry," he said. "I got a little carried away there."

"It's alright," Shinji said quietly. "I think… I think I understand him better now. Thank you, Subcommander."

"Yes," Fuyutsuki said, "well, just don't repeat any of what I said, lest it get back to your father's ears."

Shinji nodded.

"Thanks."

Fuyutsuki looked down at his glass one more time, and then stood up. He reached into his pocket, and withdrew a few bills before dropping them next to his untouched glass. "I should be going now."

"Um, Subcommmander, I mean Fuyutsuki…"

"Yes, Mr. Ikari?"

"Ah, if you don't mind my asking, why didn't you drink it?"

Fuyutsuki looked back to his glass. "A long time ago," he said slowly, "there was a woman I loved very much, but on the day that was supposed to be the culmination of all our work, there was a terrible accident and she was killed. That drink," he said, nodding to the glass, "was what we were going to toast with that night." He looked away from the glass. "I come here every night and order that. I promised myself that the day I can drink from that glass is the day I will be able to let her go and move forward." _And it will also be the day I leave NERV,_ he added, mentally.

"I see…" Shinji said quietly, realizing that like him, both his father and the subcommander were haunted by things from their pasts.

"Well," Fuyutsuki said, drawing himself up. "I'd best be off. Thank you for your company, Shinji."

"Yes, sir," Shinji said, nodding to him. "And thank you for telling me about my father."

"Don't mention it. I'd been meaning to talk to you for a while now, but I've never been able to get up the courage."

"Sir?"

"It's nothing," He laughed sadly. "Goodnight, Shinji," he said, calling Shinji by his first name as he headed out the door. And then he shook his head as he quietly said to himself, "I guess I'm a coward too."

* * *

Rei looked at the door to the room she had been directed to. She looked at the small nameplate beside the door that said Rei Suzuhara. This was the room. Reaching forward, she slid the door open and stepped in side. 

The little girl on the bed turned her head towards the door when she had heard it open, and smiled with delight when she saw who was standing in the doorframe.

"Rei!" she said, happily. "You are Rei, right?"

Rei nodded hesitantly and slowly walked forward to the chair by the girls bed. She wasn't used to this sort of greeting.

"I knew it!" Touji's sister said, raising her arms in a victory pose. She turned back to Rei, who had just sat down at the chair beside her bed. "I could tell because of your blue hair. Shinji told me about you."

"I know," Rei said, feeling a warm glow in her chest, thinking about Shinji. "He told me. He suggested that I visit you."

"He did?" Touji's sister asked, smiling. "Yay!" She looked back at Rei. "I have a question," she said.

Rei looked at the girl. "What is it?"

"Do you dye your hair that color? Shinji didn't know, but he said he didn't think so."

Rei rose a hand to her hair and touched it. She felt a little awkward talking about her self with someone who wasn't Shinji. "No," she said, dropping her hand. "This is my natural hair color."

"Really?" Touji's sister said with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"

Rei was a bit taken aback by this reaction. Her hair had never been called "cool" before. When she had first transferred into school, she remembered people whispering about how weird she was because of her hair. She hadn't cared at the time, but now… This girl was different from those people. "Th-thank you," she said, slightly shocked that the words came out of her mouth.

"Your welcome," the girl said, cheerily. "Isn't it cool that both our names are Rei?"

"I suppose," Rei said, unable to really think of a suitable answer.

"It is," Touji's sister said, decidedly. "Alright," she said. "Did Shinji confess to you, yet?"

Rei just stared at the girl for a moment. This girl knew that Shinji liked her? "Ah…" Rei said trailing off.

"Cause he likes you, you know. He told me last time, but he's too scared to tell you in case you reject him. So, do you like him back?"

Rei looked down at her hands. "Yes," she said quietly, her cheeks faintly red. Why was she feeling embarrassed talking to this little girl? Perhaps it was because she was talking about Shinji that made her feel this way. "I told him today, and he told me."

"Yay!" Touji's sister said, throwing her hands in the air. "That's good."

Rei looked up at the smiling girl.

"But just so you know," Touji's sister said, still smiling cheerily. "I like Shinji too, so if you ever break up with him, he's mine!"

Rei looked at the girl, wide eyed. "What?" she asked. This whole situation was making her feel awkward. Touji's sister somehow made her feel far too open. She was never like this when talking with her classmates…. It was sort of how she felt with Shinji… But with this little girl… it seemed as if she could see right through her.

Seeing Rei's hesitance, Touji's sister quickly said, "Oh, but don't worry. I won't try anything while you still love each other. It wouldn't work anyway, because Shinji loves you! So anything I did while he loved you wouldn't really matter."

"I see…" Rei said slowly. She was running out of things to say. Though she was sure that the girl meant no ill will towards her, she didn't like feeling this open. It wasn't something she was used to. Only with Shinji was she comfortable being open.

Suddenly, a nurse stuck her head into the door. "Visitor hours are over in one minute," she said, before continuing on her way.

"Aw," Touji's sister said, pouting. "I guess you have to go now. Will you come visit me again?"

Rei stood up from her chair and looked at the girl. "Perhaps," she said. She turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped. She turned back to the little girl.

"What is it?" Touji's sister said.

Rei bowed her head slightly. "I am sorry," she said. "If it were not for me, you would not have those injuries. It was because of me that Shinji had to pilot Eva when he didn't know how to."

"It's okay," came the girl's cheery voice, and Rei looked up. "It doesn't matter. You did the best you could, and that's what counts, right? You and Shinji don't need to apologize me. It wasn't your fault. Besides, I should have been in a shelter, so it's really my fault."

Rei looked at the girl, and felt some of the awkwardness she felt around her slip away. Something about this girl… she was different that other people. Her unwillingness to blame others reminded Rei a lot like… "Shinji."

"What?" Touji's sister said.

"You are a lot like Shinji," Rei said, looking at the girl.

Touji's sister smiled. "I hope so! He's really nice. That's why I like him! He was the first person to come visit me other than my brother. And now you're here too! I don't have to worry about being alone anymore."

Rei looked at the girl, feeling something resound within her when the girl spoke of being alone. "Do your parents not visit you as well?"

The girl shook her head. "My mom died when I was little, and my dad is always busy with work. You, Shinji, and my brother are the only ones that come and visit me."

Rei regarded the girl for a few more seconds before saying, "I will come back and visit you."

The girl smiled. "Yay! I really like you too."

Rei felt herself blush slightly. "Thank you," she said again, and then. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Rei!" Touji's sister called out, waving as she left the room.

As Rei walked down the halls her thoughts dwelled on the girl she had left back in that room. _She is different than other people, _she thought_. She is a lot like both myself and Shinji_. As Rei headquarters and started home, she looked up at waning moon. _Why do I suddenly feel connected to her like I do to Shinji?_

* * *

Misato stood next to Ritsuko next to the window that overlooked Unit-Three. She yawned, and arched her back, stretching as she tried to wake herself up. 

"Aaah," she said as she covered her mouth as she yawned. "So, today's the day."

Ritsuko nodded. "Yes. Now we'll finally see if Unit-Three will activate."

"Yup," Misato yawned again. "Perfect day for it too. Blue sky, not a cloud in sight." She turned to Ritsuko. "You're sure that nothing is going to go horribly wrong, right?"

"Misato, relax." Ritsuko said, sipping some of her mug of coffee. "I already told you, everything will be fine. Without an S2 engine, there isn't anything that could happen that we can't handle."

Misato turned back to the window and regarded the black giant that stood just outside. She shook her head, and raised a can of UCC coffee her lips. "I sure hope you're right."

_God, I hope she's right._

* * *

**Authors Note:**

There you have it! It's been over a year, but I finaly finished chapter 8! Hallelulja! It's done! Hurray! Now to begin chapter 9... but first, I'm going down to spend the weekend at AnimeBoston. See ya!


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